


The Dragon and The Phoenix

by DaenerysTargaryen, rollyturtle



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mob, Drama & Romance, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-05-31 06:55:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 47,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19420771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaenerysTargaryen/pseuds/DaenerysTargaryen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/rollyturtle/pseuds/rollyturtle
Summary: Josie knew that studying medicine abroad in Hong Kong would be an interesting experience. It was her chance to learn a new culture, to travel, and to spend a few months with her friends in a world outside their tiny town of Mystic Falls.However, what she didn't expect was that one chance meeting with a bleeding stranger would change her life forever. Not only was she going to fall in love with that stranger, said stranger also happened to be the leader of the largest triad in the state.TW: Mentions of violence, prostitution, drugs, and other things illegal things crime organizations get into.





	1. Head of the Dragon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello!
> 
> Here I am with another fanfic that suddenly came over me while talking to rollyturtle. 
> 
> Special thanks to her for being my resident HKer and helping me fill in the blanks.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy~
> 
> NOTE: Conversations in italics are spoken in Cantonese

“Fuck.” Penelope didn’t know what she was more angry at—the fact that she had been careless enough to get hurt or the fact that there was obviously a fucking rat in her organization…

Definitely the latter.

The moment she got back, she was going to kill the motherfucker who dared to betray her and probably everyone around them for their incompetence for not having spotted him soon—

Penelope’s internalized rant was interrupted when she suddenly bumped into what felt like a giant, sending her flying back and onto her ass. She was never that unstable but the large bleeding gash on her side was making it hard to keep herself up let alone survive a crash into the tall white pole that was the girl she had just bumped into.

“ _I’m sorry, are you okay?_ ” Josie panicked, kneeling down so she could help the girl up. She hadn’t been watching where she was going and while she should have learned her lesson by now to pay more attention to the busy streets, it was late at night and she wasn’t expecting to run into anyone.

“I’m fine,” Penelope answered in English, not in the mood to deal with some _gwailou’s_ broken attempt at Cantonese. 

Josie was almost about to believe her when she spotted the red patch on the girl’s shirt and holy fuck she was bleeding! “We need to call you an ambulance.”

“No!” Penelope immediately shouted. She did not need to get any kind of public authority into this mess. “Just leave me alone.” Penelope struggled up to her feet, feeling dizzy the moment she got up. Had she lost that much blood? Either way, she had to keep going. The last thing she needed was to actually get caught and she didn’t have time to comfort this white girl’s sensitivities.

“Wait! I can’t let you walk off like that. My apartment’s just around the corner, I can—“

“ _Where’d she go?_ ”

Penelope internally cursed and suddenly leaned against the wall, pulling the stranger in front of her close enough for a kiss. At least the white pole would be good at hiding her.

Josie’s eyes widened at the sudden kiss, her arms flailing a bit because the girl’s grip was damn strong and she had no idea what was going on.

It wasn’t until the men’s footsteps disappeared that Penelope let go. She rarely apologized for doing anything but considering the brazenness of her actions and her feminist leanings, she had little choice. “Sorry about that. Those men back there? This is their fault,” she explained, still leaning against the wall. Sweat was dripping down her forehead and she knew that there was no way she was going to get anywhere near safety quick enough.

To her credit, Josie was able to snap out of that sudden kiss very quickly when she was reminded of the fact that the girl was bleeding to death. “Come on, I can take you to my place.” She pulled the stranger so that she could lean on her and double checked to make sure the scary looking men were gone before rushing her to her apartment. “My name is Josie, by the way.”

“Penelope.”

* * *

It had been a hard task getting up the stairs but Josie was able to do so without Penelope passing out on her. Penelope collapsed on the couch, her breathing hard as she tried to stay conscious. Regardless of how nice Josie had been, she was still a stranger and Penelope wasn’t in a position to trust strangers. God knows if she passed out she would wake up handcuffed to a hospital bed.

Josie ran over to one of the cabinets and pulled out a first aid kit before returning to Penelope, kneeling beside her. She gently lifted Penelope’s hand off her wound, causing Penelope to hiss slightly. “I need to take a closer—“

Josie didn’t even finish the sentence before Penelope had ripped off the front of the garment, letting Josie take as close of a look as she needed. Josie couldn’t help but blush at the awkwardness of the situation but it didn’t take long, her med school training kicking in and doing the best she could with what little she had. “This is probably going to hurt,” Josie warned. 

“More than getting a machete to the side?” Penelope couldn’t help but joke. The situation was clearly tense and once Penelope realized just how weird it all was for someone like Josie, she was able to sympathize slightly. It wasn’t every day (for normal people) that someone came rushing into one’s presence bleeding and close to death.

“That’s…. yeah, probably less than that.” Who the heck was this girl? A machete? Who ran around getting chased by men with machetes and knives? Regardless, Josie couldn’t think about that right now. Not when she had some intricate stitching to do.

“Josie, what’s going—“ Lizzie blinked, suddenly noticing the scene in front of her. Her sister on her knees, a girl in front of her without her shirt fully on, and needles and blood. “I thought I told you to keep your kinks to yourself,” Lizzie rolled her eyes, obviously still half-asleep. “Just keep it down and no communal areas.” She waved them off and headed back to her room. It was too late at night to deal with this shit.

Penelope just watched as the blonde sauntered off—fairly amused at what was going on. “You Americans are so liberal.”

Josie, however, was mortified and blushing, her face redder than the blood on her hands. “S-She didn’t mean that.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t kink-shame yo-OW!” So apparently teasing someone when they had a needle to her skin wasn’t a smart idea. Noted.

Josie furiously continued the stitching, desperate to get out of this situation. Her thoughts had been innocent thus far but now she was remembering that surprise kiss and the way Penelope was looking at her was making the heat in her cheeks worse. Sometimes having a twin sister was a curse.

“D-Done!” Josie declared the moment she finished bandaging. She cleaned up the mess she had made before heading into the kitchen and grabbing some food and water for Penelope. She needed something to help with the blood loss.

“Thanks,” Penelope said, when Josie handed her the food, finally able to relax. She was still exhausted and couldn’t move but she at least knew that she wasn’t going to bleed to death on the streets.

“You’re welcome.”

Penelope reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone before sending a quick text to one of her men. She needed to be picked up and enough time had passed that it was probably safe to do so. “I’ll be out of your hair soon.”

“There’s no need to rush. You’re injured so I don’t recommend you moving for a bit anyway.”

“You seem to know what you’re doing,” Penelope questioned, watching as Josie took a seat next to her.

“I’m here for med school. Exchange program,” Josie explained.

Penelope nodded. That made a lot of sense. Her eyes had noted the HKU logos around the place.

Josie wanted to question Penelope about who she was but she had a feeling that she didn’t want to know nor would Penelope share. “Is there anything else I can get you?”

“You’ve done more than enough, Josie. Sorry for dragging you into this.” Penelope was genuinely sorry for all of this. She hated inconveniencing people and she was definitely rude towards Josie before so she couldn’t have blamed the girl for leaving her there to die. Still, she didn’t so Penelope was beyond thankful.

Penelope didn’t know how much time had passed but there was an eventual knock on the door. Josie got up to answer it and in came rushing a tiny Hope who looked furious. “Why didn’t you call me?” Hope demanded, rushing up to Penelope and completely ignoring Josie.

Penelope sighed before glaring at the person she had actually called. Hope was not it and she didn’t want her friend to worry. “I’m fine.”

“You almost died!”

Penelope immediately hushed Hope. “Not the place.”

Hope looked around and sighed, nodding in agreement. “Come on, let’s take you home.” She got over and helped Penelope up.

Josie simply watched as the two of them interacted, moving out of the way as they passed. Penelope stopped for a second and smiled at Josie. “Thanks again, Josie. For your sake, I hope we don’t meet again.”

Josie raised her brow before nodding. “I guess? Either way, it was nice to meet you, Penelope.” From her spot, she noticed the black lines on Penelope’s back. Her shirt was slightly askew, allowing her to see the outline of what she assumed was a tattoo.

The man that had come with them counted a few bills before handing it over to Josie. Josie was about to hand it back but they rushed away before she could even say goodbye.

Josie had a feeling that Penelope was right and that, for her own sake, she was probably better off not running into her ever again.

* * *

Of course, fate had other plans because not even a week later, she was being held against a wall, her mouth covered by Penelope as she whispered, “Stay quiet.” 

Josie had just been leaving class when a car pulled up and a few very dangerous looking men stepped out of it. It was clear that they were searching for someone but Josie didn’t realize it was her until she was suddenly yanked away and pressed against Penelope’s body. She didn’t know what was happening but it was obvious that Penelope did and Josie had little choice but to trust her.

When it seemed like they weren’t looking their way, Penelope grabbed Josie’s hands and pulled her further away from the entrance. By the time they got to the back, another car pulled up in front of them. Penelope opened the door and rushed Josie in before entering herself.

“What’s going on?” Josie asked as the car began to drive.

“I’m sorry,” was all Penelope could say in response. This was her fault. Josie had done something stupidly dangerous and Penelope hadn’t even considered stopping her. Penelope should have known better. Everyone who had the misfortune of falling into her orbit was in danger, even if they had only fallen for just a second.

The man who was riding shotgun looked back at Penelope. “ _They aren’t following us_ ,” he explained.

“ _Good. Make sure it stays that way. Do you have people posted at the apartment?_ ”

“Yes, boss.”

All Josie could do was helplessly watch as the people conversed, barely able to keep up with the conversation. “Penelope, what’s going on?”

“You’re in danger. Don’t worry. I promise nothing will happen to you and your friends.”

“My friends?” If Josie wasn’t panicking before, she definitely was panicking now. What the heck was going on? “Who are you?” Josie had a feeling that the answer to her question would explain what she needed to know.

The man who had been talking before started to laugh. “Ma’am, you’re sitting next to the head of the dragon.”

“The what?”

Again, the man laughed. “The leader of the largest triad in Hong Kong.”

"THE WHAT?"

Penelope kept her eyes glued to the window. _Fuck_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gwailou - slang term for Westerner


	2. Roleplay Material

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the comments and support!

“Let me out of this car right now!” Josie demanded. All of this was too crazy. Whatever Penelope was doing, it had to be kidnapping, right? This had to be kidnapping.

“I can’t do that,” Penelope stated, finally tearing her eyes away from the window.

Josie glared at her. What did she mean she couldn’t do that? This was her car, wasn’t it? All she needed to do was stop it, let Josie open the door and get out. 

Penelope sighed. She hated that she got Josie into this. It was her stupid mistake. “My enemies saw me leaving your apartment, Josie. They think you’re my doctor.” Doctors were valuable in her line of work. It required immense discretion and it was rare to find one that had the stomach for what she did. 

“Your doctor?” That was crazy. Josie was by no means a doctor (yet) and even so, why did that matter? How important was a damn doctor?

“If they think that either you have access to me or that you’re in a good position to hurt me, they will go after you.”

“I think you’re overthinking things,” Josie replied. 

Penelope knew that it sounded incredibly paranoid but she didn’t get where she was by leaving anything to chance. The moment she heard that members of the rival triad were scoping around Josie’s apartment, she knew that Josie was in danger. Penelope didn’t care much for other people’s lives but Josie saved her life and she wasn’t ungrateful enough to not care. As far as she was concerned, she owed Josie her life and Penelope hated owing people anything. 

“I know you probably think I’m crazy but I need you to trust me. I’m trying to keep you safe.” Her eyes connected with Josie’s, hoping that she could see the sincerity in them. 

“I hardly know you.” It was a lot to ask. 

“I know.” The situation wasn’t ideal for Penelope either. Not that she believed Josie was much of a threat but it wasn’t like her to invite just anyone to be in her company. While Penelope had trusted her in a situation where she had little choice but to do so, Josie hadn’t exactly proven herself trustworthy. The only thing she had going for her was that she was too much of an unassuming student for Penelope to think she was much of a danger.

“You and your roommates will be set up at a hotel for the time being. It’s public enough that the other triad won’t be brazen enough to make a move.” It was one thing for people like her to lurk in Hong Kong’s underbelly, it was a completely different thing to try something daring in the light. “I’ll have some of my men look after you. Don’t worry, you will hardly notice them.” The goal was to make it seem like Josie wasn’t an official part of her triad. Setting her up with visible guards would do the complete opposite of that. 

“How am I supposed to explain this to them?”

“Gas leak?” Penelope joked. 

Josie was less than amused, however.

“Look, just tell them you won this all-expense-paid experience. I’m sure they are dying to get out of your tiny apartment and won’t say a thing. Once I’m sure you’re safe, you can forget you ever met me.”

Josie somehow believed that would be impossible. 

* * *

The rest of the trip was done in relative silence. Penelope wasn’t in the habit of talking to strangers and Josie had no idea what she could even say. Just yesterday, she was going about her life knowing nothing about Hong Kong’s criminal underbelly, aside from how incredibly easy it was for someone like her to get access to drugs, to apparently knowing one of the people who ruled it. Even that part was hard to believe. She glanced over at Penelope, whose eyes had gone back to observing the world outside the window. She looked young. At most, Penelope couldn’t be more than a few years older than her. How was it possible for her to be leading an organization like this? In a way, Penelope was as intriguing as she was scary.

When they finally arrived at the hotel, Penelope left the car and Josie followed. It was one of the hotels closer to the university and it also happened to be relatively close to Penelope’s home though Josie didn’t need to know that last part. She walked right past the entrance and towards the elevators, leaving Josie no choice but to try to keep up. For someone with short legs, Penelope walked like a bullet. 

When they arrived at the room, Penelope placed a keycard on the desk before turning back to Josie. “If you need anything, just call the front desk. Don’t worry about the cost or anything,” Penelope explained. “Your friends should be here once their classes are let out.” Seeing no need to linger, Penelope made her way to the door. She had wasted enough time on this already. 

“Wait!”

She paused, looking back at Josie.

“This is it? Just… stay at the hotel?” Josie asked. 

Penelope raised her brow. “ _ Hei _ . I’ll have your things delivered to you.”

“How do you plan to get into my apartment?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“If you’re going to be snooping around through my stuff, I think I deserve the right to know how you’re going to go about doing that.”

Penelope sighed, slightly annoyed at how much effort this was taking. She had way more important things to worry about. If it weren’t for the fact that she needed Josie to trust her enough to save her life, she would have sent someone else to do all of this for her. “I promise I won’t see a thing. One of my girls will be handling it. She goes to HKU as well. She’ll look like one of your friends or something.” 

She fully turned around before placing a hand on her hip. “Are we good now or do you have any other questions?”

Josie could see that Penelope was annoyed but Josie was just as annoyed. This girl was basically uprooting her life and couldn’t seem to be bothered to at least be nice about it. If Josie remembered correctly, it wasn’t her that put herself in this situation. “Give me your number.”

“What?” 

“If I have any other further questions, I’ll call.” 

Penelope shook her head. “That’s not necessary. If you need anything, just call the number on that phone.” She gestured over to the burner that was on the nightstand. 

“No.”

“No?” Admittedly, Penelope was not used to someone actually telling her no. The only people who ever told her no were her parents and even then, it rarely happened.

“You asked me to trust you and I am. Only you.” Maybe it was petty but if Penelope was going to inconvenience her like this, Josie had every right to equally inconvenience Penelope. 

“I’m not giving you my number.”

“Fine, I’ll just walk home,” Josie retorted, casually walking right past Penelope, only for the girl to grab her wrist. 

“You were much cuter when I was bleeding out,” Penelope deadpanned before reaching into Josie’s pocket and snatching her phone. The movement was so fluid that Josie hardly even noticed. Penelope quickly inputted her number before handing it back to Josie. “I don’t want to have to change my number so try not to share it.” 

Josie looked down at the inputted number and nodded. “You can read, right?”

Penelope raised her brow. “Yes. I’m fluent in English.”

“Just making sure.” Josie should have known considering Penelope spoke without a hint of an accent but there was no harm in checking.

Penelope stood there for a few more seconds to make sure that Josie didn’t have any lingering questions before making her way to the door and disappearing. She had a certain rat to exterminate and had spent enough time dealing with part of the mess he had created.

* * *

“Oh god, we finally have room to walk!” Lizzie exclaimed, happily falling onto the comfortable queen-sized bed. While Lizzie knew that Hong Kong real estate was no laughing matter, she hadn’t expected that sharing a room with her sister meant having to practically climb over her every morning because their room was just that tiny and not designed for anyone their height. 

Josie hummed her agreement, not looking at her sister as she stared at Penelope’s contact card. She still couldn’t stop thinking about her. Of course, it was hard enough to get her out of her mind after their first meeting, but it was even harder now knowing all that she did. 

She was so focused on her own thoughts that she hadn’t even noticed her sister had gotten up and was peaking over her shoulder. “Penelope,” Lizzie read, causing Josie to jump at her twin’s sudden closeness. “Who’s Penelope?”

“No one.”

Lizzie raised her brow as if asking if Josie was really trying to lie to her because Josie was both a terrible liar and they were twins so lying to Lizzie was next to impossible for Josie.

“Just some girl I met,” Josie explained, swiftly putting her phone away.

“Is it that same girl I walked in on with you the other night?”

The thought immediately made Josie flush. Lizzie worded it like that on purpose. “Yes, and no, it’s not like that.” 

“Mhm, and that’s why you have been staring at the phone for the past five minutes,” Lizzie accused. “She was pretty hot.”

Josie blushed again. “Yes and I was helping her because she was injured. That’s it.”

“Huh... I guess there was a bit too much blood for you two to be roleplaying.”

“Rolepl--LIZZIE! That’s so inappropriate.” Josie face-palmed, unable to believe that her sister could be so embarrassing. Her future career was  _ not _ roleplay material. There was nothing sexy about dealing with sick people all the time, not to mention the many levels of appropriate considering she wanted to be a pediatrician. 

“Jo, doctors are hot. Use it to your advantage. I’m pretty sure Penny would love it.” Lizzie went back to her bed and began to scroll through her phone. 

Josie scoffed. She didn’t know Penelope well but she had a feeling that  _ Penny _ was not a nickname she would be cool with. “Look, she was just some random stranger I helped and that’s that. I’m not into her like that.” 

“And that’s why you got her number…”

Josie sighed. “I’m not dealing with you right now.” 

* * *

“Thank you,  _ a-yi _ !” Hope exclaimed. She was starving and it had been a while since she had had a proper home-cooked meal. It wasn’t often Penelope was home during evenings and Hope, being the utterly amazing friend that she was, always joined Penelope during her on-the-go meals.

“You act as if I starve you,” Penelope deadpanned at Hope.

“ _ With all that junk you eat outside? I think you’re gaining weight _ ,” Penelope’s nanny retorted.

Penelope pouted, only for Hope to start laughing. “I blame westernization. This is your people’s fault. Leave our country.”

“You’re half-white,  _ Penelope _ ,” Hope pointed out. 

“Shut up, colonizer.” 

When the laughter died down, Hope turned serious. “Is it bad?”

“Yeah,” Penelope answered. Although she was calm, Hope could see the anger boiling behind her eyes. Penelope being angry wasn’t an unusual thing but she could tell that she was specifically angry at herself. Penelope was careful but she wasn’t careful enough and that pissed her off. This would be taken as a sign of her incompetence and that was the last thing she needed. “They called a fucking meeting.” 

“God, they are more annoying than the police.” 

“Yeah, but unlike the police, I can’t just get rid of them.” 

“ _ No business at dinner _ !” 

Hope and Penelope sighed. “Sorry,  _ a-yi _ !” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hei - yes  
> a-yi - auntie


	3. No Drugs, No Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for the support!

“You know I hate going to clubs.”

“Come on, Jo! I’m sure no one is going to die if you put down the textbook for like one night,” Lizzie reasoned. Her sister was such a stick in the mud sometimes. They were in a completely different city and yet she spent nearly all her time with her nose in the books. What good was traveling unless they explored all the city had to offer? Nature hikes weren’t Hong Kong’s only appeal. 

“Fine, but no drugs,” Josie warned. She knew the company that Lizzie kept. It wasn’t necessarily that they were bad people but it just came so easily to them. They were a bunch of rich people with money to burn and youth to waste. 

Lizzie rolled her eyes. “You’re really no fun.”

“Yeah, I’m not going to be the one to explain to our parents how I developed a cocaine addiction.” 

“It’s not an addiction.”

“Yet.” 

They were both adults and Lizzie was free to make her own decisions. As much as Josie wished she would make better ones, she knew better than to attempt to change Lizzie’s mind. All she could do was keep a close eye out and make sure that her sister didn’t fall too far off the rails. 

Lizzie rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I promise I won’t take anything. Now go get ready!”

* * *

The club was already fairly packed by the time they had arrived. Lizzie’s friends already had a more secluded booth by the back. 

“Lizzie!” a few of them cheered as they joined the group. Josie wasn’t completely comfortable around them but had spent enough time with them that it wasn’t too bad. Most of them were expats who worked in the banking field like Lizzie or in some other profession that was more lucrative in this city than their own. 

“Hey, Josie!” Rafael greeted, sliding over so that Josie could join them. “I’m glad you could make it.”

“Lizzie wouldn’t give up,” Josie explained. 

Rafael smirked and nodded in understanding. Out of all of Lizzie’s friends, Rafael was probably the one Josie liked the most. He was a decent guy and one of the few that wouldn’t consistently flirt with her all the time. It was difficult being one of the few girls in a crew of mid-twenty-year-old men who had nothing but freedom on their hands. 

They talked for a bit and Josie helped herself to a few drinks in order to loosen herself up. Medical school was hard enough but in this city, she was surrounded by some of the top students in all of Asia and that brought things up to levels Josie didn’t even know existed. She loved the challenge but was fairly certain her hair was beginning to grey at the ripe young age of twenty-five. 

“Come on, Jo, let’s dance!” Lizzie suddenly grabbed her sister’s hand and dragged her towards the dance floor. 

Luckily, Josie was sufficiently buzzed enough to actually enjoy the experience. 

At some point, she deemed that she needed a bit more to drink and maneuvered her way to the bar. She was just about to order when someone slipped into the spot next to her. “I have to admit, I was not expecting to run into you here,” Penelope teased, giving Josie her classic smirk. 

Josie’s eyes widened but she smiled back. “Are you stalking me now?” she challenged. She had had a few drinks by now and was feeling much more daring. 

“Technically.” While Penelope wasn’t here specifically because of Josie, she would be lying if she said she hadn’t known she was here. “One of my friends owns this place and invited me here.” It would have been a disservice for her not to accept considering who said friend was, though that was business and Penelope was not interested one bit in discussing business with the girl in front of her. 

When the bartender walked over, Penelope barely acknowledged him, simply giving him an order, “Whatever she’s having tonight is on me.”

“Yes, boss,” he replied before turning his attention to Josie. 

“You really don’t have to…” Josie insisted. While everything that had happened since she met Penelope had been crazy, she had to admit that things hadn’t been half bad. Aside from that little initial scare, the only thing that had changed was that she was now staying at a much nicer place completely expense free. Josie already felt strange enough about it all. 

“I see nothing wrong with buying a hot girl some drinks,” Penelope dismissed. Admittedly, one of the first things Penelope had noticed when she spotted Josie was that she was definitely not in her usual comfort-over-appearance attire. The dress on her was sinful sexy and Penelope was seeing Josie in a completely different light. The glasses and sweatshirts were cute and all but Josie looked downright fuckable right now. 

Josie blushed at the compliment. She didn’t try often but she wasn’t blind to the fact that she could be attractive when she wanted to be. She just didn’t have time to constantly be the centre of attention like her sister was. She was content to stay in the background. Teenage Josie was a bit more attention seeking and wanted centre stage but exhausted medical student Josie wanted nothing more than to blend in and not have to deal with people. 

Still, tonight was a night to have fun and it was clear that Penelope was feeling more up to entertaining so why shouldn’t she take advantage of it? Josie had a bit of alcohol in her system so her daredevil levels were slightly raised anyway. “Is that why you kissed me the first day we met?” she playfully challenged. 

“It definitely didn’t hurt.” 

Almost instantly, her need to take care of people kicked in and her eyes went to Penelope’s abdomen. “How is it, by the way?” she asked.

Penelope’s eyes followed Josie’s onto her own body and shrugged. “It’s clean and healing so I can’t complain.” She wasn’t expecting Josie to interrupt their flirting with genuine concern but it was sweet that she was a fan of aftercare. “Unless you’d like a closer look, Dr. Saltzman?”

Josie raised her brow. “I don’t recall giving you my last name.”

“I’m stalking you, remember?” Penelope smirked and took a sip of her drink. She didn’t have the time to learn every detail about who this girl was but she learned enough to establish that Josie definitely wasn’t a threat. Her history in Hong Kong didn’t extend past a month so there was no way she could be involved in anything dark. 

“Do you stalk all the girls you meet?”

“Only the ones that save my life.” 

“Josie!” Lizzie suddenly appeared behind her, clearly much more intoxicated. “Oh hey, it’s the girl you won’t stop thinking ab--OW.” Josie may have elbowed her sister.

Penelope raised a brow, looking clearly amused. “Penelope. It’s nice to meet you.” Penelope extended her hand to Josie’s sister. At first, she didn’t believe that they were even related let alone twins but the world always managed to continue surprising her.

“Lizzie,” she responded, shaking Penelope’s hand. “I’m her twin sister.” 

“Older?”

“Younger, actually,” Josie corrected. The birth order never mattered to Josie much but if she had learned one thing about Chinese people from being in Hong Kong was that it mattered way too much to them. If either of them was going to be taking up the mantle of older sister, it was going to be her. 

“And she apparently won’t ever let me live it down. It was like three minutes, Josie,” Lizzie muttered.

“The only peaceful three minutes of my life.” 

“The most boring three minutes, you mean.” Lizzie looked back at Penelope and grinned. “Anyway, if my sister suddenly goes missing for the night, I’ll know who to blame.” 

“Glad to know I have your permission,” Penelope teased, her eyes meeting Josie’s very embarrassed face. 

“Yeah, my sister really needs to get laid. You’d be doing both of us a fav--OW!” Lizzie glared at her sister only for Josie to return her glare with equal measure. She didn’t need Lizzie to be flirting for her. All it was doing was making this entire interaction all the more mortifying and awkward.

“Not that I haven’t loved meeting you but you should probably leave before she causes internal bleeding.” 

Lizzie nodded. “Probably. Anyway, have a good night, Penelope!” 

Lizzie easily dashed off, leaving a very embarrassed Josie with her face in her palm. 

“Your sister’s quite the wing-woman,” Penelope teased, finding Josie’s blush awfully cute. 

“She’s terrible.”

Penelope shrugged, maybe inching herself a few steps closer. “I don’t know. I’m definitely considering taking you away for the night so it seems like it worked.” Not that Penelope hadn’t been considering it before but now she really had no choice in the matter. Josie was too cute and it was clear that this wouldn’t be some morally shattering thing for her. As much as she loved Hong Kong girls, she could never tell if she would be running into someone who could actually follow up on their interest.

“How do you know I’ll be letting you do that?”

“It was easy enough the first time.” 

Josie rolled her eyes. “Kidnapping me from my school? I can’t say it was a turn on.”

“Wasn’t it?” Penelope challenged, causing Josie to, for the millionth time this night, blush.

“It-- Oh, that was not fair,” Josie pouted.

“I know. According to your sister, you have these kinks. I’m quite interested in knowing what they are.”

“I’m just going to walk away now. I don’t deserve this,” Josie deadpanned. This was mortifying moment after mortifying moment. She really was not on equal footing in this interaction. This was why Lizzie was not allowed to meet people until Josie had already flirted with them. 

Penelope laughed and quickly grabbed Josie’s wrist. “You’re too cute. I promise we won’t talk or do anything you aren’t comfortable with,” she stated, putting her hands up in surrender. 

Josie had to admit, that surprised her slightly. “I have a feeling you’re not the kind to let someone else dictate the terms.” Penelope radiated confidence and it was definitely bordering on arrogance so she was expecting some level of pushiness. Plus, it was obvious by now that Penelope wasn’t a girl that accepted ‘no’ for an answer in her everyday life. 

Penelope shrugged. “I have my exceptions. I may do unsavoury things for a living but I’m not a complete asshole.”

“Good to know.” Now that it was brought up, Josie had to admit that she was really curious of what Penelope meant when she said ‘unsavoury things’. Still, it was probably a question she didn’t want answered and it was mildly irrelevant for what they were currently trying to accomplish. They were having a nice conversation but it definitely wasn’t to strike up a friendship. 

“Have I convinced you to stay then?” Penelope asked, genuinely hoping that she hadn’t actually teased Josie off. 

“Quite the opposite, I think we should get out of here.” 

That was the only permission Penelope needed to take Josie’s hand and do just that. This definitely wasn’t a part of the plan but she had to make allowances for pleasant surprises.

By the time they got to the street, someone had already pulled up with Penelope’s car and she easily walked towards the driver’s side. Josie wasn’t as convinced, however, and stood in place. “Haven’t you been drinking?” she asked.

Penelope looked up at Josie and raised her brow. “You met me bleeding out from a cut after a fight and somehow driving under the influence is the thing concerning you right now?” This girl was so ridiculous it was cute.

“I’m sorry that I value my life a bit more than you value yours,” Josie replied, mildly offended.

Penelope couldn’t help but laugh. “Get in the car, Josie, I promise I won’t kill us. This baby is too gorgeous to total anyway,” Penelope stated, patting the top of her overly compensative and unnecessarily expensive car.

Josie was still hesitant but she realized she was being as boring as Lizzie made her out to be so she knew she should take a bit of a risk. Besides, Penelope didn’t seem that drunk and she was right: her car was way too nice to destroy.

Luckily for Josie, the drive to the hotel was relatively quick and she arrived with all her limbs intact so she could only see the night going up from here… and she didn’t mean that only because Penelope somehow got them into some of the top suites in the entire building with little fuss. 

The moment the door was closed behind them, Penelope didn’t wait and caught Josie’s lips in her own (with some hassle because fuck why was Josie so god damned tall?). Josie was surprised by the sudden action but easily melted into the kiss this time. There were less embarrassing flailing hands and more exploring ones that knew exactly where they wanted to touch. 

***WARNING EXPLICIT CONTENT FOLLOWING***

In the time it took for them to travel from the door to the bed, Penelope had somehow already gotten Josie’s dress loose and it wasn’t hard for her to wiggle right out of it. While Josie wasn’t expecting to go this far with anyone tonight, she was glad she had at least prepared for it and, from the way Penelope was staring at her as she stood there with nothing but her bra and panties on, she knew she had done a good job. 

“Fuck.” Penelope welcomed the surprise and as much as she was enjoying the sight of Josie clad in lace, she knew there was something she would enjoy much more so she reconnected their lips and let her hands run over Josie’s newly exposed skin. 

As Penelope’s hands roamed over her, Josie’s found their way to the button’s of Penelope’s shirt and fumbled with them, a bit too distracted by the kiss to expertly maneuver the same way Penelope did. When she finally freed Penelope’s shirt from the buttons (only because Penelope was apparently too preoccupied to simply rip it off like the first time), she immediately pushed it off. 

Josie took a step back so she could get her own look but it lasted about as equally long as Penelope’s before their lips were once again connected and they fell onto the bed. 

Naturally, Josie’s hands found their way to Penelope’s back and while the kiss was overwhelming, it wasn’t so distracting that she didn’t notice the bumpy feeling on it. She pulled away from the kiss, her curiosity piqued. 

“What?” Penelope asked, wondering what snapped Josie out of their amazing moment. 

“Your back.”

“What about it?”

“Turn around.” 

Penelope raised her brow, not sure what this had to do with anything that they were doing but who was she to deny the hot half-naked girl on the bed below her? She sat up and turned around, only hearing a gasp as she did.

Josie immediately reached forward, her fingers ghosting over the intricate design of the tattoo embedded into Penelope’s skin. “This is gorgeous…” The tattoo-covered the expanse of her back, the intimidating dragon snaking up her skin. Every scale was distinguishable from the next and the eyes were absolutely piercing. Josie had never seen such detail on someone before and as terrifying as the monster’s face and claws were, she couldn’t help but be utterly intrigued. Her finger traced over it’s long and wise whiskers, wondering just how long it had taken to get something like this. It was clear to her now how Penelope barely even flinched as she stitched her up the other day.

“You know us Chinese people and our thing for dragons,” Penelope joked, though she admittedly loved her own tattoo. She had gotten it when her father died and she inherited his empire. It was a way to boost her own confidence and it definitely didn’t hurt that it looked intimidating as fuck. 

She turned around, forcibly tearing Josie’s eyes away from her back. “Now can we get back to what we were doing because I’d much rather admire your body,” Penelope teased, not waiting for an answer before reconnecting their lips and pushing Josie back down. 

Josie had no problems with Penelope’s demands because it gave her the opportunity to undo the clasps of Penelope’s bra, easily removing it so that her hands could find a way to her breasts as Penelope continued to kiss her. Penelope gasped into Josie’s mouth as her thumbs brushed her nipples and she smirked into the kiss, loving Josie’s forward actions. She spent way too much time with girls who were nervously exploring not to enjoy a girl who knew what she wanted. 

Penelope moved downwards, her lips tracing their way down Josie’s jawline before reaching her neck and deciding to enjoy their stay. Josie shivered under her as she kissed the delicate skin and when she got a little moan, Penelope knew she found the spot she would pay extra attention to. When Josie reached for the back of her neck and kept her there? Well, now she definitely had no choice.

She did as she was silently asked, licking and nipping at the tortured location until Josie’s body arched against hers, alerting her that it was desperately time to move on. She pulled away and pulled Josie up with her so that she could get rid of her bra before finding her way right back to Josie’s neck, giving it a parting kiss before moving downwards to the most recently exposed part of Josie’s body.

Josie’s breathing hitched the moment she felt Penelope’s warm lips wrapped around her nipple, sucking and flicking at the quickly hardening nub. She spent a good amount of time there before switching sides (though Josie’s firm hand on the back of her head made it slightly difficult). 

She only pulled away when she was suddenly stopped and Josie forced her back up to her lips for another kiss, her hips jutting upwards at a poor attempt to find the friction that wasn’t there. Penelope moaned into the kiss, utterly turned on and getting wet at how desperately Josie seemed to want her. Her hand roamed down Josie’s side and played with the waistline of her panties, playfully thumbing it and showing Josie just how close she was. 

Josie pulled away from the kiss and connected their eyes, her own darkened with a lust that matched Penelope’s. If Penelope needed permission, she enthusiastically had it.

Penelope smirked and her hand went between Josie’s legs, her finger ghosting atop her panties, feeling the hot moisture that was gathering there and causing Josie to squirm. “Seems like someone wants something,” Penelope teased. She did make a promise to let Josie dictate the terms so she was going to have fun making Josie do so.

Unfortunately for Josie, that meant more work on her part.

“Penelope,” she whined. She was not as good at verbalizing her wants and for some reason, she knew Penelope knew that. This was her way of both teasing her and testing her and it was both frustrating and too much of a turn on. “I want you,” she demanded. 

“Me? Where do you want me, Josie? Tell me.”

Josie bit her bottom lip, her face completely flushed in embarrassment. Except this didn’t want to make her run away and hide so much as it made her even more excited. “Fuck, Penelope,” she pleaded. Did she really have to say it? And why was the thought of doing so such a damn turn on?

“Words, Josie. I want you to use them.” Penelope wasn’t going to give in, not when it was obvious to her that Josie was enjoying it more than she cared to admit.

“I want you between my legs,” she finally managed to confess, her eyes unable to maintain contact with Penelope’s.

Penelope smirked, proud of her accomplishment. “Whatever you want, Jojo.”

Her fingers pushed aside Josie’s panties and she let one freely slip through her folds, enjoying the wetness that had already gathered there. Frankly, she couldn’t wait to taste but Penelope was patient where it counted. 

Josie gasped and nudged herself closer, her body attempting to take control and give herself what Penelope seemingly didn’t want to. Penelope suddenly pulled her finger away, causing Josie to whine. Why was Penelope having so much fun denying her?

“You’re not getting away with not using your words, Jojo,” Penelope playfully chastised. 

Josie groaned and glared at her, though there was no real malice in her eyes. She was having fun and Penelope knew it.

Satisfied that Josie got the message, her fingers hooked onto Josie’s panties and she went through the purposely slow process of pulling them off. When she was done, she didn’t wait and began to kiss her way back down Josie’s body, her lips peppering down the pale skin of her neck, chest, and stomach before she settled herself comfortably between Josie’s legs. 

Josie watched the entire process with lust filled eyes and the sight of Penelope between her legs was almost too much to bear. Penelope was hot and she knew it which only made her even more impossibly hot. 

Seeing no need to continue teasing, Penelope dived in and let herself enjoy Josie’s taste and the little reactions that came with every swipe of her tongue. Penelope took her time to explore, finding the little spots that would cause Josie to tense around her and the ones that caused her to relax. Although she didn’t know if this was going to happen again, part of her was very interested in learning everything she needed to know so she may have spent a bit more time than usual exploring before getting right down to business and pleasuring Josie’s clit in ways that would drive her crazy. 

When Josie felt Penelope get serious, she immediately reacted, her fingers weaved into her hair and held her there. Josie’s breathing got harsher as Penelope continued and it wasn’t long before her body was completely at Penelope’s mercy, her sounds and movements no longer her own. Penelope knew what she was doing and Josie was enjoying every damn second of it. 

Penelope could feel as Josie’s pleasure mounted, the space between her legs getting tighter and tighter no matter how much Josie was trying to resist the pull of it all. It wasn’t long before the mount reached its peak and Josie went tumbling over, a loud moan escaping her as her entire body tensed up at the rush.

Penelope let Josie ride out the rush before moving back up and reconnecting their lips. Josie’s tongue darted out to taste herself, causing Penelope to shiver at the thought. Fuck, she seriously hoped this wouldn’t be their only time because she was sensing way too much potential for fun in the future. 

When they finally pulled away from the kiss, Josie looked up at Penelope with glossy eyes. Despite her orgasm, she was still very turned on and had a feeling that this was only going to be the beginning. Penelope’s fingers found their way back between Josie’s legs and two of them began to slide around Josie’s entrance. There was a playful smirk on Penelope’s lips and Josie could practically feel the question coming, She didn’t wait for it to come, however. “Fuck me, Penelope.”

Of course, Penelope happily complied that night. _Multiple_ times.


	4. Back to Business

By the time Josie woke up the next morning, Penelope was already gone. She didn’t really mind, considering Penelope seemed like a very busy woman and she wasn’t really sure what they had to talk about when they weren’t flirting. Their lives were completely different and it was clear that Penelope had no intentions on sharing. As far as Josie was concerned, it was probably in her best interest not to find out. She took her time to get ready, enjoying the expensive hotel room and all the amenities it provided. Penelope had left her a text telling her not to worry about the checkout time so Josie wasn’t going to worry about it. Normally, she would have felt bad but it was clear by now that Penelope was loaded and probably didn’t care.

Besides, after the night they had, Josie deserved a long hot relaxing bath. 

As she sunk into the water, thoughts of last night came flashing through her mind and she found herself getting turned on at the mere memory. Penelope was _good_ and Josie could only hope that she had left Penelope just as satisfied as Penelope left her. It was absolutely mindblowing and Josie didn’t think she had ever had a better experience with anyone. By the end of the night, it felt rather obvious that they were going to meet again and that this wasn’t going to be a one-off thing. It was a bold assumption coming from something as seemingly uncommunicative as sex but Josie just had a feeling about it all.

She had been lost in her thoughts when her phone suddenly buzzed. It was a message from Lizzie making sure that she wasn’t actually dead in a ditch somewhere. The moment Josie confirmed that she was alive, another text followed with a list of things that they needed to get done this weekend. It wasn’t long considering they didn’t have an apartment to take care of but they did have a few tasks that they had been neglecting. Now that they had no other chores to pretend to be productive with, they really had no excuse but to do them.

Josie sighed and sunk deeper into the water. As much as she loved this exchange, it was way more stressful than she expected it to be. 

* * *

“Thanks for ditching me last night,” Hope stated, not tearing her eyes away from the iPad. “It was great being left with the people you were supposed to be entertaining.”

Penelope smirked, her eyes equally attached to her phone screen. “You always say I need to get laid.”

“Can you get laid at less inconvenient times or perhaps invite me to get laid with you? When was the last time we’ve had a good threesome?”

Penelope raised her brow. “Have we ever had a good threesome?”

“Remember that one time with Kim?” Hope finally looked away from her screen, a grin plastered on her lips.

Penelope met Hope’s eyes. “How can I forget? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so hot before.”

“You’re missing out then,” Hope teased, giving Penelope a wink. 

They had been best friends for far too long and friends with benefits even longer. She remembered meeting Hope when they were teenagers. Their fathers were the leading men in their respective states and struck up a mutually beneficial business relationship that had remained strong even until today. Once Hope had a taste of Hong Kong, she was definitely not interested in returning to the annoying streets of America. Although Penelope rarely admitted it, she was grateful for Hope’s friendship.

“How’s the curriculum going?” Penelope asked, peeking over at Hope’s device. 

“Boring. When you told me to help you launder, I wasn’t expecting to have to be doing an actual civilized job.” In her mind, she consciously knew that it required running a proper business but she wasn’t expecting to have to know anything about the business front, lest actively engage with it.

“I’m sorry that internalized racism is rampant and that your pretty white girl face makes for the perfect poster girl for an English school.” Hope rolled her eyes and returned to her principal-ing. If anyone had asked her ten years ago what she was going to do for a living, being a school principal was nowhere near her top one hundred lists of prospective career choices.

“How’s… whatever you’re doing,” Hope asked in return, putting away her device.

“I’m just playing Stardew Valley to relax before I have to deal with this fucking meeting. Why did I choose to take over my father’s business when I can just abandon my life in the city and own a nice little farm somewhere?”

“In Hong Kong real estate?” Hope scoffed. “Good luck, _siu bat_.”

As if on cue, the car rolled to a stop and both Hope and Penelope stepped out of it. They were parked in front of an unassuming building and quickly made their way up the stairs. A few of the boys greeted them as they walked past and Penelope barely acknowledged them, her focus completely on the task at hand: convincing a bunch of egotistical old Asian men that she wasn’t utterly incompetent.

When she entered, she made her way to the head of the table and took a seat, Hope at her right hand. “ _Uncles_ ,” Penelope greeted, giving them a small nod of her head.

“ _You’re late_ ,” one of them stated.

“ _I apologize, it was a late night last night._ ” Penelope was not actually sorry whatsoever but they didn’t need to know about her excursions last night. They judged her enough for not meeting their conventional sexual standards. If they were allowed to sleep around with young girls at their disgustingly ripe old age, Penelope saw no reason why she couldn’t do the same at her much more acceptable young one. She didn’t even need to pay for it.

Hope smirked from her side of the table, her eyes once again focused on her iPad as if she was carrying about business. They all forgave her for her American rudeness. She was fairly convinced that most of them still didn’t realize Hope was capable of speaking the language. She sure didn’t make it easy for them to talk to her.

“ _What has been done about the rat?_ ” another uncle asked, getting down to the actual important matters.

“ _He’s been handled,_ ” Penelope stated.

“ _And the damage he caused?_ ”

“ _Nothing we can’t recover from. The deal wasn’t that big_ ,” Penelope explained.

“ _Yet you were there?_ ” one of them felt the need to point out.

Penelope had to keep herself from rolling her eyes. “ _I wanted to see if there were any improvements to be made. Obviously, we have some work to do._ ” It wasn’t like she was as lazy as most of the men in this room. They all had their proven ways and refused to think outside the box. The world around them was getting smarter and it seemed like Penelope was the only one here that was willing to get smarter with it.

Unfortunately, that meant more hands-on work and observation from herself.

But of course, despite the strong progress she had made in the time that she had inherited the organization, they only focused on her screw ups. 

“ _Perhaps these improvements you are making are the reason things have been going wrong_ ,” one challenged.

Penelope narrowed her eyes at the man. “ _It is not my fault our recruiting methods seem to have been relaxed. Each of you should take better care of your brothers._ ” Was it rude for her to chastise them? Definitely. Did she care? Not right now. She wasn’t going to sit around and get lectured for something that was never her mistake to begin with. Yes, she was there and her presence was a huge risk and made them vulnerable but she wasn’t the one that vetted the rat and allowed them into their organization. She had more important things to worry about. 

She could see a few fists clench around the table but Penelope was in no mood to pacify them. “ _Is that all you wanted to discuss, uncles? I have business I need to attend to._ ” 

“ _Be careful, siu bat. Your arrogance will be your undoing._ ”

“ _Thank you for your advice, uncle,_ ” Penelope retorted. She got up and Hope got up with her, leaving the room without glancing back. She did not make them happy one bit and she was too annoyed to care. They would have never acted like this with her father and she was tired of them dismissing her abilities when she had every right to be in that chair. 

“If it makes you feel any better, your arrogance is hot,” Hope piped up once they were out of the building.

“You know what would actually make me feel better?” 

“A nice hotel room and a bunch of orgasms?” Hope teased.

“Are you volunteering?” Penelope asked, her brow raised in genuine curiosity.

“No. Go fuck that girl you had so much fun with last night.”

“Are you jealous?”

“You wish. This is me getting revenge for you ditching me.” With that, Hope happily walked off, perfectly content to find her own ride elsewhere so Penelope can go mope on her own. 

Penelope watched as her oh-so-supportive best friend walked off and sighed. Admittedly, it was a good idea so she found herself fishing for her phone and sending a quick offer to the girl she thought she would regret handing her number to. 

**Penelope:** Lunch?

She waited a few seconds for Josie to respond.

 **Josie:** Sure, where?

 **Penelope:** I’ll pick you up.

* * *

“After spoiling me with fancy hotels, drinks, and awesome sex, I can’t say I was expecting this…” Josie confessed, pleasantly surprised to be walking down one of Hong Kong’s many crowded streets. 

“I’m trying to impress you, white girl. What better way than to show you all the amazing street food? You don’t get stuff like this in the States,” Penelope joked, happily pulling another _siu mai_ off the skewer. 

“Have you ever been?” Josie questioned.

Penelope nodded. “A few times. My mom is from Pennsylvania and my best friend is American so…” 

“How’d your mom end up here?” Josie asked, figuring the question was innocent enough.

“Kind of like you. She was an exchange student, met my _ba_ , and things kind of spiralled from there.”

“My sister is actually planning on sticking around after my exchange is done,” Josie stated. She had to admit, she definitely saw the appeal of this city. There was just something so incredibly special about it and it wasn’t hard to understand why people tended to stay after spending any portion of time in it. If it weren’t for the language barrier making her own job a bit too difficult to consider a proper career, Josie probably wouldn’t object to sticking around for a longer period either. 

“And you?”

“I can’t. I have to actually graduate.”

“Makes sen--”

“Penelope!” A girl suddenly came running up to them, a large smile on her face.

“Rachel? _What are you doing here?_ ”

Rachel happily linked her arm with Penelope, as if she belonged there. Josie raised her brow and was left just watching as the two interacted. “ _I’m shopping before work tonight. You haven’t visited in forever!_ ” Rachel pouted, giving Penelope a playful slap on her arm.

“ _I’m sorry, Rachel. Work has been crazy._ ” 

Rachel smirked, playing with Penelope's collar. “ _There’s never too little time for some fun._ ”

Penelope awkwardly glanced back at Josie, who seemed rather amused that, for the first time, she wasn’t the one being caught with someone being weird. 

Following Penelope’s eyes, Rachel finally noticed that someone else was here. “Hi, I’m Rachel,” she introduced, holding out her hand. 

“Josie. It’s nice to meet you.”

“She’s cute, Penelope. Can I have her?” Rachel asked, her bubbly exterior melting into the businesswoman she actually was. 

Josie raised her brow. Have her? That was a strange way to word things but somehow Josie was quite sure it wasn’t a translation error.

“You can’t afford her, Rachel. She’s a future doctor,” Penelope stated. 

“What a waste of a pretty face,” Rachel joked. She turned back to Penelope. “Am I not good enough for you anymore, Penelope?”

Penelope rolled her eyes. “You act as if you even have time for me.”

“I always have time for the boss,” she insisted. “Anyway, I’ll leave you two alone. Don’t be a stranger, Penelope.” Rachel gave them both a cute little wave before walking off. 

“Well, you have a job offer if the doctor thing doesn’t work for you,” Penelope joked, going back to her food as if nothing had happened. 

“I think I’ll stick with medicine.”

“I’m just saying, you have some great career potential there.”.

“Are you saying you’d pay me?”

The response caused Penelope to mildly choke on her food, not at all expecting such a teasing comment. “I think I put in enough labour that it’s a fair exchange.” 

“Maybe.” Josie simply took another bite of her own food and walked ahead, leaving a very amused Penelope behind her. This was turning out to be a pretty fun date even if Penelope hadn’t originally intended it to be this much of one. She was just hungry and thought Josie would be too.

They had just finished their streetfood when Josie squealed and suddenly dashed off. It didn’t take long for Penelope to realize where she had disappeared off to. A cat cafe. Of course.

Penelope rolled her eyes and followed Josie into it. She was already fawning over the furry little creatures. Penelope was happy to stand at the side, more than content to watch from her spot away from the animals. She believed in mutual respect. If they wanted her attention, they would ask for it. 

She stood there and watched, only tearing her eyes away from Josie when she felt a tiny paw tap against her arm. Penelope looked down and smiled, immediately rubbing the small creature’s head as it purred in content at the affection.

“I think he likes you,” Josie stated, having somehow suddenly appeared in front of her with an awfully content cat in her arms. Penelope did believe that animals were sometimes the best judges of character and Josie seemed to be passing with flying colours. 

“I’m very likeable,” Penelope responded, her fingers still running over her companion’s little head.

“You know... all these cats are adoptable,” Josie couldn’t help but promote. She loved cats and wished she could adopt her own but she would only be here for a few months and didn’t have the room for it either.

“Isn’t it a bit too soon for us to be adopting a cat together? I mean, ask a girl to move in first,” Penelope joked.

Josie crinkled her nose before sticking her tongue out at Penelope. She knew that wasn’t what she meant. They both knew that that definitely wasn’t what this was. 

“So did you ask me to lunch just because you wanted to hang out?” Josie asked, putting the cat down now that she was decently satisfied that she had spent enough time at the cafe. 

“I was having a bad morning and Hope recommended that I see someone to help me de-stress. The food was because I was hungry.”

Josie smirked. “And how can I help you de-stress?”

“Surprisingly, this is actually helping.” Penelope hadn’t felt so relaxed in a while for just existing. Her mind wasn’t swamped with worries and sex wasn’t the thing clearing it for once. Still, Josie was making an offer and Penelope wasn’t going to refuse it. She leaned closer so that she could whisper, “But finding a place where you can get on your knees might hasten the process.”

Josie’s eyes widened at the suggestion but they darkened just a second later. “Let’s find one then.” 

They had found a hotel quick enough and Josie only waited for the door to shut behind them before sinking to her knees and undoing the buttons of Penelope’s pants. While there were many beautiful sights in the world, the sight of Josie on her knees was one that was shooting right into the top of Penelope’s favourite sights list. Penelope bit her lip as Josie’s eyes connected with hers, the woman knowing exactly what she was doing to her. “Fuck, Josie…” 

Josie smirked and pulled down Penelope’s pants along with her panties and tossed them to the side. Penelope’s request was much too vivid for Josie to believe Penelope needed any teasing and whatever working up she had to do, Josie was confident that Penelope’s own anticipation was making up for it. 

She definitely wasn’t wrong. 

Penelope was already wet and Josie barely had to touch her. Josie was free to enjoy with very little effort and part of her ego was swelling a bit too much knowing she had this much of an effect on Penelope. She nudged Penelope’s leg onto her shoulder and when she was sure she was stable, she did exactly what Penelope had been imagining in her mind. 

Last night was all Josie needed when it came to learning what things made Penelope tick and Penelope was damn grateful that Josie was a fast learner because not a single movement didn’t have her squirming and her pleasure mounting. Josie’s tongue expertly moved between her and all thoughts were ripped away from her mind, leaving Josie the singular one. 

Penelope could _absolutely_ get used to this method of stress relief. 

* * *

“Is this going to be a regular thing now?” Josie asked, watching Penelope as she got up and began to search for her clothes. Her eyes were completely trained on the magical beast on Penelope’s back, still utterly enchanted by it. She could tell that there was a deeper story there than just a people’s obsession with imagery. 

“I don’t know,” Penelope confessed, pulling on her shirt and cutting Josie’s view. The sex was amazing and Penelope was having a lot of fun but the goal was to take Josie out of the mess that was her life, not drag her deeper into it. The only reason Penelope risked taking Josie out today was because Mong Kok district was _her_ district and there was a very slim chance any of the rival triads would have members around that could have spotted them.

That definitely didn’t mean that Josie was going to be safe everywhere. 

Josie got up, slightly disappointed by Penelope’s answer. “I hope it will.”

Penelope looked back at Josie and bit her lip. The sheet had fallen off of the woman’s body and was giving her an awfully distracting view. If they were actually talking about sex, Penelope knew that she would give in to whatever Josie wanted at the moment.

But this wasn’t about sex.

“You do realize that getting close to me is dangerous, right?” Penelope asked. She may have avoided talking about business but she still had a business that Josie was aware of and she assumed Josie wanted no part of it--that definitely included Penelope herself.

“It’s just sex, Pen,” Josie reasoned. Admittedly, she had gotten a bit attached to Penelope and enjoyed her company beyond sex though every logical part of her brain was screaming that Penelope was right and that Josie really shouldn’t be getting involved any deeper than she already was. One simple action was enough to put her in a situation where she literally had to flee from her own home. Being friends with Penelope was a logically terrible idea. 

Penelope looked away, not knowing what to say. Instead, she focused on getting dressed as quickly as she could so that she could leave. “I’ll text you later.”

Josie frowned but nodded, her eyes averting down to her hands. “Sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> siu bat - "little pen" It's Penelope's childhood nickname from the men. They thought it was funny because her English nickname is "Pen". 
> 
> siu mai - a type of Chinese dumpling
> 
> ba - dad


	5. Keep It Simple, Stupid

While Penelope kept her word and did text her later, it was nothing of substance. They didn’t see each other over the next few days and Josie was almost able to forget about her existence until she suddenly texted saying that it was safe for Josie to return home if she so wished. Life had returned to normal but Josie no longer felt normal. Or at least, normal was now strangely boring. 

“Josie!” MG called, noticing that his classmate’s mind had seemingly disappeared somewhere. 

“What? Oh, sorry.” She returned her eyes to the notes in front of her.

“Are you okay? You’ve been kind of out of it lately.” Just a week or so ago, Josie had told him that they had to start working harder and yet it seemed like Josie was beginning to pay a lot less attention to her classes.

“Yeah. I’m fine. Just a lot on my mind.”

“Want to talk about it?”

Josie considered MG’s offer but decided against it. “Nah. I’ll be fine.” It wasn’t like she could be completely honest with him. It was about a girl, yes, but it was about a girl who happened to be one of the most dangerous people on this side of the world. Josie had done a bit of research on the topic and while the internet was less than helpful and no one seemed to know anything of real substance about the triads, Josie found out enough for her to be scared. 

Yet, she couldn’t seem to connect the image of Penelope to those things the articles talked about. Penelope was cocky and definitely had a mean undertone to her, but she didn’t seem like an evil person. Drugs, human trafficking, illegal gambling… those were things only truly evil people profited off of.

“Josie Saltzman?” Josie looked up from her notes, her eyes meeting with the man who just spoke. He was standing there with another intimidating looking man and Josie had a feeling that she wasn’t going to like what was going to happen next.

Sensing the girl’s suspicion, the man pulled out his badge and showed it to her. Josie raised her brow. Police officers? She had a feeling she knew what this was about but what could they possibly want with her? “How can I help you, Kwan-sir?” 

“We are a part of the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, we have a few questions we would like to ask you,” the man explained. 

MG looked terrified, wondering exactly what the heck was going on. “Jo…?”

Josie looked over at MG and gave him an awkward smile. “Don’t worry about it, um... “ She looked back at the officer. “How does this work?”

“We would like to bring you back to the station. It’s just a few questions. You aren’t in trouble.” 

Josie wanted to say no but considering her precarious situation as an exchange student and the fact that they were currently on campus and she didn’t want to cause a scene, she really had no choice. “Okay.” She began to pack up so that she could head out with them. MG was giving her a look like she was crazy but now was definitely not the time to explain anything. 

She let them lead the way and followed them back to the station. The entire time, she was doing her best not to panic despite the fact that there was no hiding that she was nervous. Who wouldn’t be when being faced with scary looking police officers in a foreign country?

They walked her into one of their officers and offered her a seat and water, which she gratefully took. “We just wanted to ask you a few questions about this woman you were with.”

They slid over a photo of her and Penelope on their little date in Mong Kok. Josie hadn’t even realized that someone was taking pictures of them and it made her wonder what else they had. Was this normal? She knew Penelope was important but to have police surveillance on her when all she was doing was walking down a street? 

What had Josie gotten herself into?

“What about her?” Josie asked, attempting to play dumb.

“Do you know who she is?”

Josie bit her lip and shrugged. “She’s just someone I met the night before this… we, um.” 

“You what?” the officer asked.

“We met at a bar and well… we had sex.” Despite the fact that Josie was blushing red at the personal confession, the officer in front of her was unmoved. He didn’t even seem the slightest bit surprised which told her that they knew much more than they were letting on. “What’s this about, sir?”

The officer shook his head. “Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble. We were just interested to know if you heard or saw anything suspicious.”

Josie shook her head. “No. It was just sex and brunch.” 

The officer didn’t seem completely convinced but he had nothing but Josie’s words to go by. “Well, if that’s it, we would like to thank you for your time.” Kwan-sir got up and opened the door, easily letting Josie leave. Before she exited, however, he briefly stopped her. “Just as a warning, you should probably stay away from her. A good student like you shouldn’t get mixed up with someone like her.” 

Josie awkwardly nodded. “I’ll remember that.” 

“Good.” 

* * *

“Boss?”

“Hm?” Penelope looked up from the papers in front of her, her brows raised at her very concerned looking men. 

“ _ That girl we’ve been watching? Some officers went to talk to her. _ ”

Penelope immediately frowned. Officers? They had just gotten the other triad off of Josie and now the police were sticking their nose into things? Sometimes Penelope really fucking hated people.

She pulled out her phone and opened the messages between her and Josie, considering sending her a message. She wanted to know if Josie was okay and what the officers said but the more logical part of her knew that it was probably best to leave it alone. Josie hadn’t been exposed to anything damning and if they just stopped interacting, nothing would come out of this. The officers had nothing and were probably just snooping around. 

Deciding against texting Josie, she put her phone away. “ _ Try to find out what they know _ ,” Penelope ordered. 

“Yes, boss.” 

It was probably nothing but it was better to be safe than sorry.

* * *

Unlike Penelope, Josie had a harder time letting it go. The moment she was out of the station, she let out the breath she was holding and willed herself to stop shaking. Nothing was wrong. It was a few innocent questions. Still, it was terrifying to be that close and that deep in a police station. 

She basically sped home and locked herself in her room before she even dared to pull out her phone. 

**Josie** : I need to see you. 

This was going against everything the officer had just said. Penelope was the reason why she was being questioned by them and if she wanted to avoid this in the future, she knew the easiest solution was to avoid Penelope in general. Yet, her gut reaction wasn’t to avoid her but to seek her out. It was stupid but Penelope’s presence made her feel strong in a way she couldn’t explain.

It took hours for Penelope to respond but Josie was eventually presented with an address and a time. 

She immediately followed the address to a slightly run-down looking building. A few of the men stared at her as she made her way up the stairs but she eventually found the apartment that Penelope told her to go to. She was about to knock when she found the door askew, and taking it as an invitation, she entered. 

Josie was immediately hit by the smell of incense in the air and it took her a few seconds to realize that Penelope was sitting at the centre, her eyes closed and legs crossed. Almost as if Penelope could sense Josie was looking at her, she opened her eyes, her piercing green meeting Josie’s warm brown. 

“Was I interrupting anything?” Josie asked, somewhat thrown off by the apartment they were in. It looked fairly old and whatever furniture around was modest. It definitely wasn’t an environment Josie would have imagined seeing Penelope in. 

“I was just meditating,” Penelope explained, getting up and reaching for her water bottle. 

“You meditate?” Penelope never stopped surprising her. 

“When I need to clear my head. Sex is great and all but sometimes it’s just nice to be doing nothing.” Penelope definitely had a lot on her mind and since Josie was one of them, she couldn’t exactly seek her out. 

“I don’t know how people do it. Every time I try, I just can’t stop thinking about other things I could and should be doing.”

Penelope shrugged. “I’ve been doing it since I was young. I used to hate it because  _ ba _ would cut into training time so that we could just sit around and do nothing but I eventually realized that it was part of the training.”

“Training?”

Penelope nodded. “He used to teach me kung fu. Turns out, half of it is mental discipline.”

Did that at least mean that Penelope was currently calm? The last thing Josie wanted was to work her up and make her angry. Considering the reason she was here, there was a high likelihood Penelope would get upset. 

“Some police officers came to talk to me today. They had a picture of us together.”

“I know,” Penelope replied. Josie’s surprise only lasted for a second before she realized that Penelope probably was keeping tabs on everything. Penelope took a seat on one of the chairs and gestured for Josie to join her. “What did they say to you?”

“Nothing. They were just asking questions about you.”

Penelope’s eyes narrowed. “What did they ask?”

“About whether I overheard anything suspicious. Don’t worry, I haven’t and even if I did, I wouldn’t have said anything.”

Penelope knew that Josie had nothing of substance to tell the officers but she was caught by surprise knowing that Josie wouldn’t have cooperated. She seemed like such a good girl (even if she did have a dirty side). “Why not? You could get into trouble by denying the police.”

Josie shrugged. “I don’t know. I just don’t like betraying my friends.”

Penelope raised her brow. Were they friends now? Penelope definitely couldn’t answer that question so maybe she had no choice but to take Josie’s word for it. Either way, she appreciated Josie’s loyalty. That was hard to come by, especially from someone she barely knew. 

“It was kind of scary. I’ve never been in that position before.” 

“I’m sorry I put you in that position,” Penelope apologized, her words genuine. “The police are always grasping at straws.” They had to be desperate to go so far as to talk to Penelope’s one night stands. “But don’t worry, they don’t pose any real threat to you and if they try anything, just call me.”

“I’m not here to blame you or anything. I just wanted you to know that they approached me in case you’re in trouble or something…”

Penelope quirked her brow. In case she was in trouble? Penelope was technically always in trouble with the law. Still, she appreciated that Josie was concerned about her when she should be much more concerned about herself. “Don’t worry about it, I’m fine.”

“Okay.” Josie took a few seconds to let the information sink in. If she were smarter, she would get up, turn around, and walk away forever, but she was also driven by this internal need to stay, to get to know Penelope better, to be close to her. 

Apparently, Josie just wasn’t that smart.

Penelope didn’t stop her either.

“What is this place anyway?” she asked, getting up and heading deeper into the apartment. She walked over to the shrine and took a look at the few pictures there. One of them looked a lot like Penelope so Josie could only assume he was her dad. 

“This is my parent’s first apartment,” Penelope explained, approaching from behind Josie. “He bought it the moment he could afford it.” Unlike Penelope, her father was a self-made man. He worked his way up the organization’s ladder to become the head and earned the respect of his colleagues. Penelope just happened to be lucky enough to be his daughter. No matter how much she proved herself, there would always be that one part of her that knew she would never be as good.

What Josie got from Penelope’s explanation, however, was that she was standing in a place that was incredibly important to the woman before her and she felt kind of honoured that Penelope cared enough about her to give her the time of day and allow her here. “You look a lot like him.”

“Yeah.” By the tone of Penelope’s voice, Josie could tell that this conversation was not one Penelope was used to having but she also wasn’t being hostile and closed about it either. Penelope was giving her a way in even if she consciously knew it or not. 

“Why are you actually here, Josie?” Penelope suddenly asked. They weren’t in the pre-industrial age. They didn’t have to meet in person. Josie’s concerns weren’t anything that a quick phone call couldn’t have solved. Yet Josie was here, standing next to her and exposing herself to more danger. 

The question caught Josie by surprise and she took a second to let it sink in before shrugging. “I don’t know.” Truth was, she was finding it very hard to understand her actions around Penelope. She liked being around her and that feeling was overwhelming despite her brain telling her otherwise. “I was scared and just needed to see you… it’s stupid but something about being around you makes me feel reassured and safe.” Penelope’s existence in her life may be exposing her to a level of danger but physically being at Penelope’s side didn’t. 

“That is stupid. I’m not a good person, Josie. I’m not someone you should feel safe around.” It was the truth. Penelope had blood on her hands and her actions and decisions hurt a countless number of people every day. There was no light to be found here. 

“Do you not want me around?” Josie asked.

“I didn’t say that.” The problem was that Penelope was enjoying Josie being around too much. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Then don’t let me get hurt.”

“It’s not that simple.” Nothing was ever that simple. Did Penelope want her around? Yes. That didn’t mean it wasn’t selfish and in any way a good idea.

“I know, but humour me? I’m only here for another few months. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Penelope had a feeling that a lot of terrible things could happen in those few months but she was too selfish right now to care. She enjoyed Josie’s company and Josie was right; she would only be here for a few months. It couldn’t be that bad. Penelope’s overly paranoid mind was making it seem like it was much bigger of a deal than it was. 

If Josie wanted to be humoured, then Penelope would humour her. 


	6. Sloppy Attachments

“What are you smiling about?” Lizzie asked, noticing her sister was, once again, not listening to her. Over the past few weeks, Josie had been attached to her phone and a lot busier than before. She knew the reason  _ why _ Josie was acting this way, she just didn’t expect Penelope to consume her so much. Sex was one thing but whatever was happening between Josie and Penelope was not sex. 

More importantly, it was beginning to annoy Lizzie. 

Not because she was taking up Josie’s attention, but because Josie seemed unwilling to share anything with her. They never hid stuff between them but now Josie was actively avoiding the topic altogether. It was suspicious and didn’t sit well with her. Lizzie didn’t even know the girl’s last name.

“Nothing.” 

Nothing was never nothing.

“I’m going to head out. Don’t wait up for me.”

“No.”

Josie stopped for a second, looking back at her sister, confused by her rejection. “No, what?”

“No, you’re not going out without me tonight.” 

“But I was going to go see Penelope…” And things with Penelope always ended up a certain way--one that she was pretty sure Lizzie had no part in.

“Well, text her back and say you’re busy. You’re stuck with me tonight.” 

Josie simply blinked, not sure what to make of Lizzie’s request. Still, she didn’t want to upset her sister and it had been a while since they went out together. Josie sighed and pulled out her phone, causing Lizzie to squeal and clap at her success. 

**Josie** : Lizzie wants to spend time with me.

**Penelope** : That sucks. I had all these fun ideas of what we could do tonight…

**Josie** : You’re mean.

**Penelope** : You love it ;)

**Penelope** : But you should spend some time with your sister. Hope has been bugging me to go karaoke with her anyway.

**Josie** : Karaoke?!

**Penelope** : You and Lizzie can join.

“Do you want to go to a karaoke bar?” Josie asked. “Penelope just invited us.”

While the plan was to spend some quality time with her sister, Lizzie couldn’t pass up the opportunity to find out more about the woman her sister was clearly so enchanted by. “Sure. We can go after we grab something to eat.”

* * *

By the time Josie and Lizzie arrived at the karaoke establishment, Penelope and Hope were already settled into their own room. While Josie was expecting it to be only Penelope and Hope, she was wrong by about four people. There were four other girls in the room that Josie didn’t recognize and two of them were  _ too _ close to Penelope.

Josie immediately noted the way they positioned themselves, leaning slightly against her, their hands on her thighs in faux innocence. It was as clear as day that they were flirting with her and Penelope wasn’t rejecting their advances. Not that Penelope had to reject them or anything…

Penelope’s eyes made contact with Josie’s and she immediately smiled. “Jojo!” 

Josie awkwardly smiled back, not sure what to make of the situation. 

“Thank you for your company, ladies, but you should really go back to work.” None of them seemed to want to get back to work but they complied nonetheless, leaving the room. 

Penelope got up and walked over to Josie, placing a small kiss against her cheek. That wasn’t good enough for Josie so when Penelope was about to pull away, she reached forward and held her there so that their lips could meet instead. Penelope’s eyes widened but she wasn’t complaining and smiled into the kiss. 

Lizzie cleared her throat from behind Josie, causing her to break her kiss. “Penelope,” Lizzie greeted, none of the playful friendliness that she had greeted her with before. What could she say? She was petty and she could tell that her sister wasn’t happy with what they walked in on.

Penelope immediately read Lizzie’s mild hostility but she decided to ignore it. “It’s good to see you again.” 

“Likewise.”

“Hope, this is Josie and Lizzie,” Penelope introduced. 

Hope gave them both a genuine smile. “It’s nice to meet you both. I would get up and shake your hand but I’m kind of high and don’t think I can walk straight.” 

“Come on, grab a seat.” Penelope took Josie’s hand and pulled her along onto the couch next to her. Lizzie followed, watching her sister closely. “Do you guys want anything? Drinks on me.”

“Can I have what she’s having?” Lizzie asked, pointing directly at Hope. 

Hope raised her brow and smirked. “I’m always open to sharing.” 

“Lizzie…” Josie warned.

“Come on, Josie, it’s fun. You should try it sometime.”

Josie frowned and looked away. “I’ll pass.” 

Penelope could sense Josie’s discomfort and wrapped her arm around her. “Ignore them. Here’s the catalogue. Pick a song, Jojo. I can’t wait to hear you sing.” She hoped that focusing on the song titles would distract Josie enough so that she didn’t have to observe them. Penelope didn’t know Josie’s views on drugs though she probably should have figured out by now that Josie was the kind of person that would be against it. 

Josie did as Penelope suggested and looked through the massive list of songs. As Josie looked through them, Penelope poured her a shot and offered it to her. “You’re going to need that if you want to stay sane through this. Trust me.” Sober karaoke was torturous if everyone else was drunk or high. It was one thing to listen to bad singers all night, it was a completely different form of torture to listen to bad  _ sloppy _ singing.

Josie sighed and took the shot; Penelope wasn’t wrong.

* * *

Hours had passed by the time Josie and Penelope made it into a hotel room. They had lost Lizzie and Hope along the way (frankly neither of them were paying much attention to them) but that just meant that it worked out perfectly for them. They got to be alone. 

Josie walked over to the bed and collapsed on it. She wasn’t drunk anymore so now she just felt exhausted. 

“Did you have fun?” Penelope asked, sitting on the bed beside her. 

“I did.” It was the truth. Once Josie got past the initial ten minutes, everything else was great. They belted out to songs they shouldn’t have and Josie was surprised they still had their voices. “Thanks for inviting me.”

“Anytime,” Penelope replied, leaning down so she could press a small kiss to Josie’s head. 

Now that things were calm again, Josie couldn’t help but think about the less fun parts. “If I hadn’t joined you today, would you have taken one of those other girls back here with you?”

The question caught Penelope by surprise but she recovered quickly enough. Penelope shrugged. “Maybe? I don’t know. Is that a problem?”

Josie shook her head. “No. it’s not like we are exclusive or anything.”

“Yet it’s still bothering you.” Penelope had learned by now that Josie rarely voiced her feelings if she thought she was in the wrong--but that didn’t mean she completely hid them. Josie was easy to read if someone took the time and effort to do it. With Josie, sometimes her silence was the most poignant. 

“It doesn’t matter. I’m just being stupid.” 

Penelope frowned. “It does matter and you’re not being stupid. Your feelings aren’t insignificant, Josie.” 

Josie looked away, unable to meet Penelope’s eyes. She felt silly for being jealous. They weren’t exclusive and this was Penelope after all. She never hid who she was and she had a whole other life that Josie would never be a part of. Josie knew what she was getting into when she persisted anyway. She just didn’t expect it to hurt this much. Why did it hurt this much? It was only sex.

“Josie, talk to me,” Penelope practically pleaded.

“It doesn’t matter, Penelope. I know I’m wrong. I’ll get over it.”

Penelope sighed. How could someone who spent all her time trying to make everyone else happy be so stubborn when it came to her own happiness? “If you can’t be honest with me, we can’t be doing this, Josie,” Penelope stated.

Josie looked over at Penelope, confusion in her eyes. 

“Neither of us have time or energy for anything messy, Josie. We need to communicate and make sure we are both on the same page. If we aren’t, there’s no use in dragging this on. It’ll just make things worse in the end,” Penelope explained. As much as she liked spending time with Josie, she only felt secure doing so if she knew where Josie stood. There was too much at stake every time Penelope opened herself up to someone to not know the factors involved.

And Penelope knew she was beginning to open up despite the gates she had put around herself. 

“Why do you want me to say it?” Josie argued. “You can tell I’m jealous…” 

“Because I don’t want to assume anything. Assumptions result in miscommunication. Why are you jealous, Josie? What is it you want from me?” 

“I don’t know!” None of this felt right. All she knew was that she wished she could disappear from this moment. She wanted to run but she had no one to run to. Even Lizzie didn’t know the true extent of what was going on. Josie knew she felt something for Penelope. She knew it hurt to think of losing her or to imagine her with someone else. But she also knew it was wrong. Her feelings were wrong.

She couldn’t have feelings for someone like Penelope. This wasn’t what this was. Penelope was dangerous. She was from a completely different world and it was one that would ruin Josie’s if it seeped in. And yet she couldn’t walk away. In the brief time they’d spent together, Josie had somehow managed to make what should have been simple impossibly complex. 

“I’m scared…”

“Of me?” Penelope actually looked hurt for a second. 

Josie quickly shook her head. “No...I know you wouldn’t hurt me on purpose.”

Penelope didn’t know whether to be relieved or not. It was never the ‘on purpose’ that concerned her. “Then what are you scared of?”

“I’m scared of what I’ll do. I’m not a good person, Penelope. What if I do something that hurts you?”

Penelope couldn’t help but scoff. “You are a saint compared to me, Josie. How could you possibly hurt me?”

“I’m not the only one who’s getting attached, Penelope…”

Penelope averted her eyes. Josie wasn’t wrong. Penelope was getting attached. She was sitting here trying to figure out Josie’s feelings when she shouldn’t be caring about them. She barely put this much effort into Hope and Hope was her best friend for years. 

“I’m weak. What if I’m selfish and I try to hurt you because I’m upset?” Considering the precariousness of Penelope’s day-to-day life, Josie imagined she could do real harm. Josie knew that she had a darkness inside, one that she kept contained by focusing on other people, but she could feel it creeping upwards every time she was with Penelope and it scared her. 

Penelope met Josie’s eyes again. “I don’t say this lightly, Josie, so I want you to listen to me.” Josie’s brows furrowed in confusion but she simply waited. “I trust you.” There were very few people in the world that had that privilege yet somehow Josie had earned it in a matter of weeks. “I’m also not some helpless person trapped by your magic spell. I can protect myself, even from you.” 

She knew this was a bad idea. She knew it was a bad one from the start but she was in too deep now to care. She loved how she felt around Josie and the immensely selfish part of her couldn’t let go. “It’s okay if you want me to yourself. You can have me. We can be selfish together.” 


	7. Safe for Work

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DO NOT LET THE TITLE OF THIS CHAPTER FOOL YOU.
> 
> THERE IS VERY EXPLICIT (NON-VANILLA) SMUT BELOW.
> 
> YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
> 
> \---
> 
> Anyway, sorry this took so long! I started playing Far Cry 5 and it is just so much more entertaining than staring at a document trying to make sex sound sexy. It's honestly not as hot of a process as you'd imagine. I tell rolly that sometimes I treat it like its limbs mathematics where you gotta keep track of all the moving parts to make sure it makes sense.

“Are you really sure you want to do this?” It had been a weird request and Penelope wasn’t sure if Josie was actually ready for something like this or if she should be attempting this in the first place…

“I’m curious so I’m sure I want to do this.”

“Okay…” Penelope got out of the car and Josie followed. A few men were hanging out in front of the building, casually talking and playing a card game as they approached. When the noticed Penelope, they immediately stood up, clearing the space in front of them. “Pen-jie! Rachel didn’t tell us you would be visiting.”

Penelope simply shrugged. “I forgot to tell her.” It wasn’t like Penelope needed permission to enter her own building, but Rachel often liked to see to Penelope herself and Penelope hadn’t given her time to clear her schedule. “Can you handle this for me?” she suddenly tossed her car keys at one of them and he quickly nodded, heading off to go park her car. They let her by with little hassle and all Josie could do was watch as Penelope confidently marched into the establishment as if it were just any other building.

The first floor looked relatively normal and residential but the moment they reached the second, things had changed drastically. Josie wasn’t seeing a hallway full of apartments, instead, it was a lobby. It was slightly dark but relatively modern. It looked a bit like a club without the loud ear-aching music. 

“Pen-jie!” Everyone greeted, stopping what they were doing when they noticed Penelope stepped in before returning to their usual duties.

“Are you here to see Rachel, Pen-jie?” 

“No. I’m just here to…” Frankly, Penelope didn’t know why she was here or how to really explain what she was doing here. Josie wanted to see part of her business and this part was one of the few that weren’t violent or terribly illegal. Penelope looked over at Josie and smirked, an idea popping into her head. “I’m recruiting,” she gestured at Josie, causing the girl’s eyes to widen. 

The girl blinked, wondering who this girl was that made her special enough for Penelope to see to this business herself. Admittedly, she was very pretty and her American blood made her different but there was something awfully stiff about her that told her she wasn’t used to any of this. “ _ Would you like someone to give her a tour _ ?” she asked, not sure what the protocol was for when the boss of the entire organization personally was on a recruiting mission. 

“No, it’s fine. I can show her around myself,” Penelope dismissed. The girl nodded before walking away and returning to the desk.

“Recruiting?” Josie repeated, still flabbergasted that Penelope had said that.

“You did ask me once whether I’d pay you,” Penelope responded, merely shrugging before heading deeper into the lobby. Josie had little choice but to follow, a small blush on her face at Penelope’s teasing. 

“So how does this work?” Josie asked, wanting to get her mind off of Penelope’s tease.

“Prostitution is legal in Hong Kong but only for the sex worker themselves. Living off the avails is what’s illegal,” Penelope explained. Pimps, brothels, bodyguards, any support staff was illegal so there was no doubt that what was going on here was illegal. “But this is simply an apartment building and everyone is just operating their own room--renters you might say. That’s not illegal.” 

Josie raised her brow. “And that excuse works?”

Penelope laughed and shook her head. “No, the police aren’t that stupid but that’s what lawyers are for.” They skirted the legal line just close enough that it wasn’t worth pursuing. Of course, sometimes the police would threaten it, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t worth their trouble as long as this place wasn’t causing a disturbance. 

“So the workers aren’t technically employees.”

Penelope nodded. “They are each their own business. My people just help maintain the infrastructure around the market.” 

“That’s smart.”

“I can’t take credit. It’s basic survival on their part,” Penelope explained, her mouth falling into a frown.

“Survival?”

“The laws make it virtually impossible to do this kind of work in any safe way. They can’t hire bodyguards and the police surely don’t give a fuck. Meeting strangers on the streets and bringing them back home is inherently dangerous.” There was strength in numbers and these building gave them a chance to socialize and collectively protect one another (with Penelope’s help on the side).

“Do you actually care, Penelope?” Josie asked, dropping a bomb onto her. It was an earnest question and they were past the point where they needed to tiptoe around one another. They made a deal to be honest to one another and Josie was genuinely worried about Penelope’s moral fibre. 

“If you had asked me that five years ago, honestly it would have been a no.” Penelope was no saint and she knew it. When she was young, she was completely deaf to the suffering of others because her own life was always so much more important. The people were purely numbers from where she saw things and it was easier that way. Sympathy definitely threw a wrench into her abilities to strategize and that was what she was good at. 

“But you care now?”

“To the extent that I can.” At the end of the day, this world was violent and people would always suffer. No person could keep their sanity caring about everything. “There are still numbers and many other things to worry about.”

Josie nodded in understanding. “I get it.” Death was a tornado of emotions, causing nothing but pain and destruction around it. At some point, the people who lived in those fields of highs and lows had to learn to build a storm cellar. 

Josie wasn’t immune to the same callousness--it was easier to not care at all than to care too much.

“Do you?” Penelope asked. 

“I do. It’s never fun seeing kids suffering and that’s the age group I want to be working with the rest of my life.”

Penelope couldn’t help but smile. Josie was quiet but she could see her being good with kids. Penelope herself was terrible with them--though it probably didn’t help that she never intentionally softened up her often resting hard appearance.

When Josie spotted an open door, she peeked inside, noticing it was empty. “Are we allowed to go in?” 

“I own this place so I don’t see why not.” Penelope gestured for Josie to enter. 

At first glance, the room seemed no different than a usual bedroom. It was a bit darker and had an almost Victorian theme but nothing seemed completely off until one looked a bit more closely. 

Naturally, Penelope’s eyes gravitated towards the modifications, only realizing now which room they had stepped in. She suddenly shut the door behind them, the very audible click of the lock following.

Josie turned around and furrowed her brows in confusion. “What are you doing?”

“Properly recruiting you.” 

No sooner had the words left Penelope's lips did Josie find them attached to hers. She was surprised but naturally responded--or at least she tried to. Penelope was rougher than usual and she wasn’t hiding the fact that she was trying to throw Josie off her game. It worked because Josie hadn’t even realized they were close to the bed when the back of her knees hit it, causing her to fall onto it. “Penelope?” Josie questioned, looking up at her.

Penelope leaned down, her fingers playing with Josie’s hair as she brought her lips next to Josie’s ears. “That’s going to be the last time you say my name tonight, Jojo.” She cupped Josie’s face, her grip tight. “From this point on, you refer to me as ‘Mistress’ and unless I ask you a question, I don’t want to hear a word out of you.”

Josie’s eyes widened and while she wasn’t expecting that, she had to admit Penelope’s words immediately sent a jolt down her body and right between her legs. 

“Do you understand me, Josie?” 

Josie immediately nodded her head. 

Penelope’s hand slid back Josie’s before she firmly gripped her hair, just enough to make a point. “I asked you a direct question, Josie.”

“Y-Yes.” 

“Good. Now, do you remember our safeword?” Despite the suddenness of the shift to sex, Penelope still wanted to establish all the basics. “Oh, and I expect you to add a ‘Mistress’ after every answer. I want you to remember who’s in charge.”

Josie blushed, her eyes unable to meet Penelope’s from pure embarrassment. “Yes, M-Mistress.” The word tasted weird on her lips but it also felt good in the way she knew Penelope intended it to. They had been rough before but this whole mental thing? It was new and... really _hot_.

“And do you consent to me taking control?”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“Good girl,” Penelope complimented, letting go of Josie and comfortably sitting on the armchair. 

“Now, strip,” she ordered, her eyes unwavering as they met Josie’s. 

Josie’s eyes widened and her flush somehow became stronger. It wasn’t like Josie hadn’t been naked in front of Penelope before but this felt different. The way Penelope stared at her, as if were something to consume, made Josie feel like she had never done it before. It was terrifying but exciting. Penelope knew what she did to her and never hesitated to take advantage of it. The night would be torturous but just the thought had made her throat go completely dry. It was a good thing Penelope didn’t want her to talk because Josie wasn’t sure she was capable of it right now.

“I gave you an order, Josie,” her voice sounded annoyed (though Penelope really wasn’t) and almost threatening, daring Josie to challenge her. “I don’t like waiting.”

Josie managed to choke out a “Yes, Mistress” before her hands shakily rose to the buttons on her top--a top she now regretted wearing because the buttons wouldn’t seem to undo. 

Josie was so busy fumbling with the buttons that she hadn’t even realized Penelope had appeared in front of her. She took firmly Josie’s hands and placed them down onto the bed beside her. “Looks like I have to train you better. When I say something, you do it immediately.” Without warning, Penelope grabbed Josie’s shirt and ripped it open, the buttons no match to Penelope’s eagerness.

Josie gasped and tightened her grip on the sheets beneath her. “Now you don’t even get the option of hiding that beautiful body of yours from me. Only good girls get to make decisions like that and you’re doing a very poor job of pleasing me right now, Josie.”

Josie bit her lip, still unable to really talk. 

“I expect an apology, Josie.” Penelope’s voice was, once again, disappointed. 

“I’m… I’m sorry, Mistress.”

“We are going to have to work on that hesitance of yours when you answer me. If you’re being honest, you shouldn’t need time to think about  _ how _ to answer me.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

Penelope smirked. “Good girl. Now, strip.” She returned to her seat from before.

This time, Josie scrambled up and undid the rest as quickly as she could. Her face was red knowing that Penelope was watching every move with apt attention, but she was also wet. So wet that she almost breathed a sigh of relief when her panties came off. She didn’t need to look to know it was probably soaked. 

“Good girl.” Penelope spread her legs slightly before pointed at the floor between them. “Now, come over here and kneel.” 

“Yes, Mistress.” The words were beginning to feel normal and came out more easily now that she had uttered them. Josie walked over, every step tantalizing. She could feel the cool breeze of the room hit the heat between her legs and every step reminded her of just how turned on she was. 

Penelope watched as Josie did what she ordered her to, a cocky smirk on her face. When Josie was on her knees, she reached down and cupped Josie’s face, forcing her to look up and meet her eyes. She leaned down at place a small kiss on Josie’s forehead. “You’re so beautiful.”

Although the circumstances weren’t their usual one, the words sank in deeper. It was strange having someone so focused on her. Penelope made Josie feel perfect, even with her all vulnerable and bare. “Thank you.” The truth of those words shone through Josie’s eyes and Penelope knew that Josie’s gratitude went beyond their little scene. 

“You’re welcome.”    


A small moment of silence drifted between them, their eyes connected, before Penelope broke the contact. She cleared her throat. The contact was getting too long and too intimate for her. She took a second to reset herself as Josie stared at her--it was really hard when she looked so cute when she was confused. 

“While you’re with me, you’re not allowed to feel less than beautiful. I don’t own things that aren’t beautiful,” she teased, causing Josie to blush. “Do you feel beautiful, Josie?”

Josie bit her lip, her need to please and her need to be honest in complete conflict. There were always going to be things she didn’t like about herself and while she was never super insecure, she wasn’t the most secure person either.

Noting Josie’s silence, Penelope spared Josie from having to say anything. “Regardless, you will.” She leaned down next to Josie’s ear, “I want you to see just how incredible you are to me.”

She pulled away and leaned back against her chair. “Touch yourself. Spread your legs nice and wide for me to see it,” she ordered.

The order caught Josie by surprise. She was so ready for Penelope to take her and have her way with her that she was fairly disappointed Penelope wanted her to touch herself. The thought of it was weird since she had never done it in another person’s presence so Josie hesitated. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it.

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Josie,” Penelope reassured. “Look at me the entire time. Focus on what I’m seeing, not what you think you’re doing.” It was a tall order for someone like Josie but Penelope knew she could do it if she were pushed just a little bit. “Think about how you’re pleasing me by doing this.”

When Penelope explained it that way, Josie could see herself actually doing it. She could understand the appeal and all it required was for her to try. She pressed her lips together while shifting her legs apart before she ran an exploratory finger between her folds, surprised at how wet she was. 

Her eyes remained on Penelope and she watched as Penelope’s eyes flickered downwards to her moving finger. The stare was intense and she could see Penelope bite her own lip, clearly very interested in what she was seeing. As Penelope said it would, the sight encouraged her and Josie let another finger join. Just the action was able to cause Penelope to squirm. It was subtle but it was noticeable. In the moment, Penelope was feeling just as vulnerable as Josie. She might not be naked or touching herself, but she was showing Josie exactly how much power she had over her. Josie was the centre of attention and Penelope wanted her to see it.

Josie continued to touch herself, allowing herself to enjoy the feeling. Not only was the physical act satiating the heat between her legs, it was affecting Penelope a lot and Josie couldn’t help but milk in the moments. She had never felt like this before. There was utter confidence in her actions and watching as Penelope’s eyes got darker and her breathing got heavier was just edging her on. 

“Fuck, Josie,” Penelope breathed.

Josie allowed herself to fully focus on getting herself off, knowing that Penelope would enjoy it. Her eyes began to close as she approached her climax, her fingers working rapidly to push it along. It didn’t take long for her orgasm to finally hit her and her entire body shook from the intensity of it. 

When Josie came down from it, Penelope was still staring at her, but there was a new edge to her that excited Josie. “Get on the bed, now,” Penelope demanded. 

Already deep, Josie didn’t hesitate but to do so and Penelope got on top of her. She reached for her hand, the one that had been between her legs, and rose them to her lips before taking her fingers into her mouth, gently sucking on the juices that were coating it. Josie whimpered at the sight and feeling of Penelope’s tongue playing with her fingers and enjoying it. 

When Penelope finally released her fingers, Josie was pretty desperate to have Penelope touching her anywhere else. “You’re such a good girl,” Penelope praised, causing Josie to blush. Apparently, she had a praise kink along with everything else that was going on. “But you’ve made such a mess... Since you’ve been a good girl, let your mistress take care of it.” 

With that, Penelope kissed her way down. Usually, there was much more foreplay as she travelled down Josie’s body but she was fairly confident none was needed. Besides, Penelope had no reason to be patient. As far as she was concerned, Josie had given her permission to take what she wanted. It didn’t take long at all for Penelope to settle herself between her legs and enjoy the gift Josie had left her with. Her tongue took its time, running through Josie and lapping up every bit of her arousal. Already sensitive, Josie responded in kind, releasing the little noises that she couldn’t control when Penelope was so intent on taking it from her. 

Josie’s second orgasm was easy to achieve and it wasn’t until her body stopped trembling that Penelope returned to her face. She grabbed Josie’s hand and stuffed it into her pants. “This is what you do to me,” she stated, urging Josie to feel just how hot and wet Penelope was. Penelope began to grind against Josie’s fingers. While the angle wasn’t the most comfortable, Josie went along with it, providing the pressure Penelope needed to satisfy herself. 

Josie watched as Penelope experienced her orgasm, her eyes focused on Penelope’s face. Penelope was still fully dressed and this was the first time Josie had touched her tonight and yet Penelope came easily and came hard. Josie didn’t need to touch Penelope to turn her on. She was plenty turned on just being able to enjoy the sight and thought of having her. 

When Penelope recovered, she immediately got up and buttoned up her pants. “Stay here.”

Josie blinked, confused as to why Penelope suddenly got up. “I need to go get a few things. I’ll be right back. Stay there,” Penelope explained. 

It still didn’t explain anything like why Penelope got up but she supposed it wasn’t her place to question. “Yes, Mistress.”

Penelope’s eyes softened into a smile and nodded. “Good.” With that, she left the room, though it wasn’t a rush. Josie noticed that she had left the door unlocked and it wasn’t like Penelope to be careless about it so she knew it was purposeful. They were already at some risk of getting caught but with Josie exposed like this, in a room like this, at a location like this? Fuck, maybe Penelope was doing a better job at recruiting her than she ever thought she could because it only served to turn her on more. 

Penelope wasn’t completely wrong about this being a plausible alternative career path and the thought both terrified Josie and excited her in equal measure. It was thrilling and something she would have never experienced if not for Penelope. 

Seeing no choice but to stay put considering Penelope’s orders, Josie stayed put, only sitting up so she could better observe the room. She was rather rudely interrupted the first time she tried. She pulled her legs up to her chest and leaned against the bed frame, needing a little sense of modesty despite her less than modest thoughts.

While looking, she finally noticed the alterations in the room. For the most part, they were little random metal rings here and there. They were subtle but everywhere and Josie’s mind could only just come up with a few things they could possibly be used for. She was fairly certain none of them were to hold paintings…

When Penelope returned, she returned with a metal case in her hand. “Rachel is not going to be happy I stole some of her inventory,” Penelope stated, walking over to Josie. “But I have a feeling you’ll be glad I did.”

Josie watched as Penelope placed the case on the bed, still sealed. She met her eyes and what she saw in Penelope’s eyes excited her to the core. They were hungry and Penelope had hours to satiate that hunger in any way she wished. 

Both of them knew that there was no going to sleep tonight.  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jie - older sister (the triads use familial pronouns and she is more important so it defaults to jie)
> 
>   
> Congratulations, you made it to the end!
> 
> Could I have added more? Yes, but it had to end at some point. This isn't a smut fic, sorry :P If I had continued, it would have been a fic of its own.


	8. Crazy Rich Asians

“Do you want to come to Macau with me?” Penelope asked.

Josie looked over at her and blinked. “That’s random.”

“I have business to take care of there but it won’t take more than an afternoon. I was thinking you would like a chance to see the city.”

Josie smiled and nodded. “I would love to.” 

Ever since their talk about where this was all going, Penelope and Josie had been much more honest with each other. They both knew there was something here that they couldn’t fight and were willing to let it be for as long as it lasted. The journey was far too exciting to let the destination dictate everything. They knew there was no future between them but what felt important was sharing the time that they had left. Aside from work and school, they spent every waking moment together. 

They were both at the point where they knew leaving was going to hurt but somehow it felt worth it.

“That’s great. Let's go.”

“What? Now?” Penelope wasn’t serious, right? The look on Penelope’s face was enough to tell Josie that she wasn’t. “I don’t even have my things.” They were no longer using a hotel room and was in the apartment that Penelope’s parents had bought. Josie had some of her things here but definitely not anything that prepared her for a trip to another city. 

“Why would you need them?” Penelope asked, raising a coy brow. “Come on, I have an apartment there and anything you don’t have we can just get for you.”

“That seems like a waste of money…” Josie stated.

“Keeping my helicopter waiting wastes more money, trust me.”

“Wait… helicopter?”

* * *

There were many things Josie expected to experience when she had landed in Hong Kong; flying over the ocean from one city to another, was not one of them. The sight of the setting sun over the water was absolutely gorgeous and a once in a lifetime kind of experience for her. Josie was slightly terrified of the height and how unstable she felt in such a small aircraft, but Penelope reassured her. Her hand was tightly gripped in her own and Penelope rubbed the back of Josie’s hand soothingly. 

When they finally landed, Josie had to take a few seconds to adjust to what had just happened. The flight wasn’t even twenty minutes but it was amazing and still felt like forever. Penelope linked their hands again and walked towards the car that was waiting for them. “I feel like I’m in the movie Crazy Rich Asians,” Josie joked, getting into the fancy car. She knew Penelope was rich but this was a whole new level and fairly terrifying.

“Hong Kong has the most billionaires in Asia,” Penelope stated. “No capital gains tax. It makes Hong Kong a tax haven to many people.”

Josie bit her lip and leaned closer to Penelope so she could whisper, “I love it when you talk smart.”

Penelope raised her brow, a large smirk on her lips. “I can give you some private lessons, Josie. Maybe you should visit me during office hours,” Penelope teased. 

“I would love to, Professor.” Josie broke out into a grin, causing Penelope to smile in return. She didn’t know how Josie did that. One minute, Penelope was thinking about how hot she was, and the next Josie was the cutest person in the world and she was unable to do anything but smile. 

“Does this mean you have businesses outside of Hong Kong?” Josie asked, wondering how travelled Penelope was. 

“I have people in every continent. Globalized trade is nothing compared to organized crime networks,” Penelope joked. 

“You joke but that’s pretty scary,” Josie stated.

“If you don’t make stupid decisions, you’d never see people like me. It’s the ones that make poor decisions that get involved in all of this.”

“Are you telling me that me spending time with you is a stupid decision?”

“Monstrously,” Penelope stated, not hesitating for even a second. 

“Well, I haven’t cashed in on my once in a lifetime mistake so I have room to spare,” Josie replied. 

“I’m not sure that’s how it works, Jojo.” Penelope was pretty sure it was better to live life without making a life-altering mistake.

“I’m the smart one in this relationship so what I say goes.”

Penelope raised her brow, too amused to argue. “Whatever you say, Doc.” 

When they stepped out of the car, the first thing Josie noticed was they were not at the place they were staying. “Why are we at a business office?” Was Penelope actually going to let her witness some sort of meeting?

“We have to get you ready for tonight.”

“What? I thought you were busy.”

“I am, but it’s just a party for one of my important associates so you can come with me,” Penelope explained, guiding Josie into the building.

“Are you sure that’s okay? I wouldn’t want to say something that could cause trouble.”

Penelope dismissed Josie’s concern. “If there’s one thing old Asian men love to do, it’s underestimating the women around them. Nothing you do will convince them that you are smart anyway so why does it matter?” 

“You’re not making a good argument as to why I should want to go and spend time around them.”

“Because I don’t want to deal with all the men and women that will be hitting on me the entire night.”

“Are you actually using my jealousy against me?” Josie was mildly offended even though part of her was pretty entertained at the fact that Penelope was expecting her to bat away all of her potential suitors.

“It’s working, isn’t it?” Penelope smirked, opening the door to the studio.

“It is.” Josie paused to look around, wondering why they were in an office-like room. 

“Penelope?” someone randomly greeted. “Oh my god, it’s actually you!”

Penelope smiled and easily returned the hug that Karen was giving her. “I have a project for you.”

Karen raised her brow and smiled. “I deserve a retainer fee for how often you expect me to drop everything and work on something for you.”

Penelope gently placed a hand on Josie’s back and nudged her forward. “Last minute plans. Josie here is going to be my date to Andrew’s birthday party. We need to get her camera ready.”

“Cameras?” Josie’s eyes widened. Just what had she agreed to?

“Penelope… does she not know what she’s walking into?” Karen asked, noticing Josie’s surprise and hesitance. 

Penelope shrugged. “You can explain it to her.” She turned to Josie. “Sorry, babe, I have business to take care of. I will see you tonight.” Penelope leaned up and gave Josie a quick peck on the cheeks before heading out, leaving a stunned and mildly annoyed Josie. 

Karen sighed. “How do you deal with her?”

Josie shrugged, still not quite sure what she was doing here. 

Noticing Josie’s confusion, Karen rolled her eyes. “I’m a stylist and Penelope apparently wants me to get you ready for a party that took me at least a week to prepare Penelope’s look for."

“I don’t understand what the fuss is about…”

“Andrew is the son of one of the biggest casino tycoons in Macau. You’re American, right?” 

Josie nodded.

“Well, Macau’s gaming industry is multiple times larger than Las Vegas’ so this is not going to be a small party you’re walking into. They actually locked down a whole casino for this.” 

Josie blinked. 

Not a second later, Penelope received a text message that made her smile.

**Josie** : I’m going to kill you for this.

 **Penelope** : I look forward to you trying, babe.

* * *

The afternoon was an absolute worldwind. Karen practically dragged her all across the city getting things ready. She had never been to so many designer studios and forced into so many dresses in one day. The nicest part was when she was allowed to relax at a spa and get her body treated. 

But then came makeup and hair and all the relaxation she felt was stripped away instantly. 

**Josie** : This is torture. How could you do this to me?

 **Penelope** : I like my gifts wrapped in pretty packaging.

 **Josie** : After this, you’re not getting laid tonight. 

**Penelope** : You want to bet?

Josie was quite glad that she didn’t make the bet because the moment Penelope joined her in the car, Josie knew she had lost. While Josie was wearing a modern red dress that sparkled with traditional Chinese Phoenix imagery, Penelope was wearing a suit, but instead of a jacket and tie, she had a black tangzhuang on top of her white shirt. The jacket’s knots weren’t done up and it was altered to fit her curves, but what caught Josie’s eye eyes were the satin golden dragons that flowed throughout the jacket. 

It was just the right amount of traditional, modern, and powerful that Josie expected of Penelope’s more formal outfits, and it made Josie absolutely weak. 

“You look absolutely beautiful, Josie,” Penelope commented, snapping Josie out of her Penelope induced daze. 

“You look… wow.”

Penelope smirked, unable to control the cockiness that came from being right. There was no way she wasn’t getting laid tonight. “Though I think Karen overdid it with that Phoenix stuff on you. It’s lovely but this practically implies we are a married couple—yin and yang, marriage prosperity,” Penelope paused before adding, “love…”

Josie met Penelope’s eyes, matching the intensity of them. They hadn’t discussed it yet but now was not the time to do so. All that mattered was that the thought was in both of their heads. “At least that means there’s no way they would think you’re single. It would be clear that you’re with me.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good thing…” Penelope confessed. This would be their first truly public outing and while it was just fine for Josie to seem like just any other date, their outfits flowed and showed a togetherness that would only highlight their feelings for one another. Unfortunately, it was too late to back out now and Karen couldn’t be blamed for her choices when she was given no instructions or warning otherwise. 

“If I didn’t know you were trying to protect me, I would think that you were ashamed to be seen with me,” Josie stated. It wasn’t meant to be a criticism or anything, it was just the truth. A younger and more vulnerable Josie would have been insecure and believed that she was something to be ashamed of but Josie wasn’t that girl anymore. Additionally, Penelope and her had talked about it too much for Josie to ever misunderstand Penelope’s intentions. 

“More like I want to keep you all to myself,” Penelope teased, causing Josie to smile in return. 

“Well, you have me to yourself all night. I’m sure you can wait,” Josie responded, her hand casually going to rest on Penelope’s thigh. 

“I’m glad you’re sure because I’m not.”

The car eventually came to a stop and they could see the flashes of the cameras that surrounded the casino entrance. “We don’t have to pause or talk to anyone,” Penelope explained. 

Penelope got out of the car and waited for Josie to join her before offering Josie her arm, one that Josie gladly took. Now that they were outside, Josie realized just how loud and crowded the place was. Luckily, the pathway was sectioned off for actual guests as the fans and camera people stayed behind the line. “Why are there so many people here?” Josie asked, still not sure what she got herself into. 

“Andrew’s invited a lot of celebrity guests.” Penelope, however, was not a celebrity so she was free to guide Josie in without hassle. 

The casino was already buzzing by the time they entered, a bunch of games having already started. “Do you have a preferred game?” Penelope asked. 

Josie blinked. “The only game I know is blackjack.”

“Blackjack it is.” Penelope guided Josie towards a table. She made her appearance to honour Andrew’s family but it mattered very little if she decided not to talk to people. They could come to her if it was that pressing. 

Penelope offered Josie the seat and was happy to stand behind her to let Josie play. “Give me five,” Penelope ordered. 

“Of course, Ms. Park.” The dealer began to assemble a mass of tokens and plaques before pushing them towards Josie. 

Josie’s eyes widened as she looked at the amount that was printed on the various pieces. Penelope definitely did not say five thousand. Not even five hundred thousand. When she looked around her she realized that everyone else in the table had similarly matched amounts. Josie tugged Penelope’s jacket, catching her attention and Penelope leaned in. “There’s no way I’m betting with this much of your money.”

Penelope smirked. “Relax, Josie. Unless you’re planning on throwing all the chips into a few rounds, it’s not going to make a dent. You might even win me some money. Besides, I own shares in this casino so part of it is going back to me anyway,” Penelope explained. Her organization didn’t solely deal in illegal businesses--they needed legit and clean ones to make sure the illegal money could be used. What better way than through owning casinos and making deals with them? People walked in and out every day, spending their life savings and no one batted an eye. It was basically free money so if people went in just to lose a few thousand dollars, it didn’t look suspicious. 

Josie still wasn’t convinced so Penelope grabbed a random amount of chips and tossed them forward. Before Josie could say anything, the dealer was already dealing the cards and it was too late to retreat now. Josie nervously watched as the cards were dealt in front of her, her mind unable to focus on anything other than the thirty thousand dollars on the line. This was crazy. It had to be crazy, right?

When she looked down at the flat seventeen, she groaned. The dealer’s revealed card wasn’t helping either. Josie decided it was best to stay. When the dealer won, Josie was less confident about all of this. She tugged for Penelope’s attention again. “Are you sure this is… it’s a lot of money, Penelope.”

“Relax, Josie. I didn’t give you any amount I wasn’t willing to lose.” Again, Penelope grabbed a set of chips and bets were placed. “At least this game doesn’t fully rely on luck. You’ll get the swing of things.” The game continued and Penelope had to keep placing bets for the next few rounds until Josie’s sanity couldn’t handle the random numbers anymore and she set it at an official amount she was going to bet every round. That one where Penelope tossed a hundred thousand was enough to scare Josie off from letting Penelope decide.

Penelope was quite content to sit back and let Josie enjoy herself. At some point, she actually relaxed and let herself be immersed in the game. It became a competition and it took nearly no time for Josie to start actually making progress. Penelope was impressed and it was clear Josie was enjoying herself a lot. “I hope I’m not fostering a gambling addiction.”

“If I get one, I’m sending all the loan sharks to you.”

Penelope laughed and nodded. “Deal.” 

“Wow, Penelope, looks like you’ve got yourself a lucky charm.”

Penelope looked up at the man who approached and grinned. “I hope you don’t try to poach her from me, Andrew,” she greeted, giving him a quick hug.

“Only an idiot would risk stealing your girl, Penelope. I like my head attached to my neck.”

“Good because I have a blade sharpened in my apartment with your name on it if you do.”

Josie couldn’t help but grin at the banter. It was kind of nice having someone acknowledge her as Penelope’s and it was extra amusing that Penelope seemed just as possessive over her as she was over Penelope. 

“Thank you for coming.”

“Any time.” 

“I’ll leave you and your gorgeous girlfriend alone,” Andrew stated. He gave Josie a wink before heading off to greet other people. 

“He’s hot,” Josie commented. 

Penelope raised her brow. “I’m sure he wouldn’t say no to joining us,” she teased. “His girlfriend might though.”

Josie laughed. “Too bad.” 

For someone who looked so wholesome, Penelope was pleasantly surprised at how adventurous and fun Josie actually was. She was willing to try anything and sometimes Penelope worried that she was actually just doing it to please Penelope. Josie always thought it was cute that Penelope was concerned but she was starting to get tired of having to reassure Penelope that her ‘yes’ actually meant ‘yes’. 

“I think I’m getting tired of this,” Josie stated. She managed to win a bit of money and was happy leaving it at that. She didn’t actually want to acquire an addiction. Addiction ran through her biological mom’s side of the family and Josie knew her and her sister were especially susceptible. That was what swore them off any of the more addicting vices. The last thing they wanted was to be like their uncle. 

“Are you sure?” Penelope asked. 

Josie nodded. “I want to see you in action. It’s always hot when you’re showing off.”

Penelope smirked and offered Josie her arm. “Now how can I pass up a chance to turn you on?”

“You can’t.”

Penelope walked them over to one of the poker tables with a few acquaintances she knew. It was currently full but Penelope intended it to be that way, giving Josie a chance to observe and understand how the game worked. 

When there was a free spot, Penelope joined with Josie watching from behind. Unfortunately, poker was not a partnered game and Josie couldn’t be privy to Penelope’s cards. Penelope had mastered her poker face. She didn’t need Josie to give her away. 

The game went on for what felt like forever. It was intense and Josie didn’t think gambling could be so intense. A lot of it was luck and while poker required a certain level of luck, it was also fairly personality based. She didn’t think she’d been in a position where she wouldn’t be able to read Penelope at all, but there she was. 

“All in.” Josie’s eyes widened when she heard Penelope call that. Penelope had millions on the table and she was going all in?

“Call.” Her final opponent similarly pushed all his chips into the centre of the table. Everyone watched anxiously as the dealer dealt the final card. 

Penelope looked up at Josie. “Will you do the honours?” 

“No,” Josie flatly refused. She was not going to be the one to flip that fifteen million dollar card. Definitely not. No way would she be able to stand that pressure. 

This was the one time that Penelope didn’t respect Josie’s no. Instead, she simply slid the card towards Josie. “I’m not flipping it over so if you don’t, consider it me folding.”

Josie glared at Penelope, her cocky grin not very charming right now. Penelope took Josie’s hand and placed a small kiss on it. “You’re my good luck charm.” The onlookers couldn’t help but coo over the two of them. Penelope didn’t care who was watching. All that mattered was Josie was having fun. 

Josie sighed and reached for the card. When it was revealed, she nearly screamed. Sitting in front of Penelope was a full house against her opponent’s three of a kind. Penelope had won and the whole crowd began to cheer at the intense game. Penelope got up and shook her opponent’s hand before cashing in the chips. “I told you, you’re my good luck charm.”

Josie was still completely stunned and barely registered Penelope as she guided her elsewhere. A section of the casino had been cleared for a dance floor and Penelope knew she had to drag Josie onto it. It wasn’t until her body was flushed against Penelope did she realize where she was. Naturally, she leaned into Penelope and allowed her to lead. 

“Is this actually your life?” Josie asked, still in awe at everything around them. 

“The more glamorous part. This doesn’t happen often.” Penelope didn’t want Josie to fall in love with this because it was all a facade. This image of her that Josie was building in her head wasn’t the full picture. Penelope didn’t lie--she refused to lie about anything with Josie--but it only worked because Josie knew not to ask. In many ways, Josie didn’t want to know and Penelope hoped it would stay that way until this moment of theirs ended. If Josie knew the monster that hid underneath, would she still want to be with her? Would she still want to touch the blood-soaked hands that could never be washed clean?

“If I asked you to show me the other half, would you?” Josie met Penelope’s eyes, wondering what she would get in response.

Penelope pursed her lips and shook her head. “I wouldn’t.” 

“Why not?” It wasn’t accusing, it was just curious.

“You’re already too close to it. The crime world is infectious and I won’t let you be caught in it.” Maybe she would have allowed it before. It would have probably scared Josie off before things had gotten this deep but there was no way Penelope could budge on her stance now. She cared about Josie too much. This was a fantasy she was crafting for Josie, one they both agreed on, but it couldn’t last forever. Penelope just hoped she would give her something worth remembering.

“Isn’t that my decision?” Again, it wasn’t accusing. She was just wondering what Penelope would do if she did ask.

Penelope smiled and gave Josie a small kiss. “I respect your decisions in every other situation, Josie, but this is one that I am rightly in charge of. I get to choose who enters and who leaves and I’ve decided that it isn’t a place for you.”

Josie frowned slightly but she nodded. Penelope’s reasoning wasn’t wrong. It was Penelope’s world and her consent mattered just as much as Josie’s autonomy, if not more so. 

Penelope breathed a sigh of relief. Penelope was grateful that Josie wouldn’t impose her will or fight it. It was what made them work so far; Josie never pushed and Penelope never lied. 

When the song finished, Josie took Penelope’s hand and pulled her towards the balcony. No one was there and it was far enough that they weren’t deafened by the mechanical sounds of slot machines. She leaned against the railing and Penelope joined her. She pulled off her jacket and placed it around Josie’s bare shoulders, fairly glad that no one ever expected her to wear a dress. She wore them every so often but avoided it if she could. As much as she wanted to fight the patriarchy, it made life easier if she stayed away from being too feminine in front of the people she worked with.

Josie smiled and hugged onto the coat--nothing felt quite as comforting as being surrounded by Penelope’s scent. They both stared at the large fountain in front of them, enjoying the silence as the world around them buzzed. “Penelope?”

“Hm?” Penelope turned so she could look at Josie’s eyes. 

Without looking at Penelope (not that she could), she said, “I think I’m falling in love with you.”

Penelope smiled, though it wasn’t necessarily because she was happy. She was more amused that she had predicted that this would happen and yet she was stupid enough to go for it anyway. “ _Are_ you falling in love with me?” Penelope questioned, causing Josie to furrow her brows and turn to meet Penelope’s eyes, only for Penelope to have turned around to avoid hers. “The side you are falling in love with… it’s a divine mixture of the best parts of me, the ones that would have made us perfect together if we were living any other life.” Penelope had little doubt about that. “But all the good can’t outweigh the bad. You can’t fall in love with me, Josie. You don’t really know me.”

Josie bit her lip, her eyes beginning to tear up at the rejection. “Yet you won't show me everything.” Penelope wasn't even giving her the option to fall in love with her.

“Because the most selfless thing I can do is to make sure you don’t fall in love with me. I can shatter this image we’ve willingly formed of me and break your heart but you will recover and be safe. I can’t push you away if you fall in love with all of me. At the end of the day, we cannot be together, Josie.”

She did her best to quell the pain in her own heart. Penelope had a killer poker face and she had to use it. Still, if she looked at Josie, she didn’t think she could maintain it so she avoided eye contact. “So don’t fall in love with me.” Especially, not in the same way Penelope had fallen for Josie. It was hypocritical and manipulative but it was the only thing Penelope could do to ensure that Josie would be happy. 

Happiness wasn’t in Penelope’s future. Hell, she couldn't even guarantee she’d have a future to be happy in. People like her died young and Josie deserved better.

By the time Penelope turned around, Josie was already gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long! I hope that the length makes up for it though :)
> 
> If y'all want to reach me, you can find me at danystormborntargaryen on Tumblr.
> 
> That way, if I take too long to update, you can nudge me...


	9. Goodbye

Penelope stayed a bit longer at the party, letting Josie have her space and alone time before heading home. It gave her an hour or so of socializing so it didn’t hurt, but her mind was on Josie the entire time. She knew she had hurt her--Penelope had hurt herself saying those words. Nevertheless, there was no doubt in Penelope’s mind that she was right. Josie would finish her program, go back to the US, and live her life the way she was supposed to. 

When she entered her apartment, the lights were on and Penelope found Josie sitting on the couch, munching on some chips as she watched TV. Josie had abandoned the dress and stole some of Penelope’s lounging clothes. Penelope went over and took a seat next to her. “Are you okay?”

Josie didn’t look away from the TV. “I’m fine.”

“Josie…” 

“You were right. I shouldn’t be feeling this way. It’s okay. I’ll be fine.” Even brokenhearted, Josie was more worried about easing Penelope’s guilt and taking on all the responsibility. 

Penelope cupped Josie’s cheek and gently nudged her to look at her. “Josie… tell me what’s on your mind. Please?” 

Josie’s eyes averted away from Penelope’s stare. She didn’t want to talk. Talking would hurt and make it too real. “I don’t want to lie to you, Penelope, so can you please stop asking?” 

“Make it hurt then.” Penelope preferred anything over this silence. She needed to know what Josie was thinking. She didn’t want to go to bed with them in the middle of some sort of conflict or disagreement. If Josie believed she needed to be corrected, then Penelope would give her the opportunity to do so.

“What do you feel for me, Penelope?” Josie asked. She finally pulled her eyes away from the TV and met Penelope’s gaze, wanting to see the truth for herself.

Penelope bit her lip and shrugged. “I don’t know.” It was a lie, of course. Penelope knew. Her feelings for Josie had wrapped around her heart, planted roots, and was slowly draining it until there was nothing left. Every second she could feel her heart grow weaker to the infection. Penelope knew that if she tried to rip them out now, she would be taking most of her heart with it.

But that was Penelope’s burden to bear. She wasn’t meant for happiness. From the moment her father passed, she knew that peace and happiness were an illusion for people better than she was. It was for people like Josie. She could only hope that Josie would realize that before it was too late.

“You’re lying.” The words came out cold. Josie could see the struggle in Penelope’s eyes. It was like she said, liars needed time to think. Penelope was thinking too much. 

Penelope didn’t answer. Instead, she simply looked away, unable to meet Josie’s angry glare. “Does it matter if I am?” 

Josie could feel those words like an arrow through her heart. Penelope would rather lie than let Josie hear what she wanted to hear. Since it pained her so much, Josie wouldn’t push it. “I guess not.”

* * *

The trip home was filled with silence. Josie kept her eyes out the window and Penelope couldn’t do a thing. She had hurt Josie’s feelings. Despite the separate bedrooms, she could hear the quiet sounds that came from Josie’s. The red eyes and tired face only confirmed that she hadn’t gotten any sleep last night. Penelope hated herself for doing this. She hated that she had hurt Josie. She truly was a monster that needed to be rid from her life. 

This was it. 

She couldn’t be selfish anymore. 

“A-Cing!!”

“A-ma?” Before Penelope could even process what was happening, she was engulfed in a tight hug. 

“When did you get back from Singapore?” She looked over at Hope who just gave her a shrug in return.

“I came back as soon as I heard.”

“Heard what?” 

Sophia looked past Penelope (which was way too easy) to look at the girl behind her. She basically shoved her daughter away to walk over to the stranger. “You must be Josie. I’m Sophia, Penelope’s mom.”

Josie’s eyes widened and she awkwardly stood there. Out of all the times to be meeting Penelope’s mom, now seemed like the worst. After the hellish night and morning she had just had, she wanted nothing more than to go home, curl into her blankets, and forget the world existed for a few moments. 

Sensing the awkwardness and noticing the red eyes, Sophia clued into the fact that something had happened. She turned around to Penelope with a little glare in her eyes. “A-Cing! What did you do to this poor girl?” 

Josie blushed, the straightforwardness making everything more awkward. She didn’t need to be here to witness Penelope’s mom giving her a lecture on her behalf. “I’m really tired from the flight, Mrs. Park. If it is alright with you, I am going to head home.”

Sophia frowned but she couldn’t force the girl to stay. “Hope, can you drive her home?”

“It’s okay, I don’t want to bothe--”

“I insist.” 

Hope gestured for Josie to follow before the both of them disappeared. It was clear by now that no one could really say no to the matriarch of the Park family so Josie followed Hope to her car. “It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Park.” She looked over at Penelope and gave her a small wave, “Bye, Penelope.” All Penelope could do was watch as Josie disappeared. Part of her legitimately wondered if she would ever see her again.

Sophia looked back at Penelope. Now that Josie was gone, the hardened look on her face had disappeared, replaced with a soft vulnerability she hadn’t seen since her father had died. Perhaps the better question was: what did this girl do to her daughter?

Penelope wordlessly walked towards her car, her mother in tow. She didn’t want to talk and her mother knew to respect her wishes. Stress was a constant in her life and she didn’t have time to discuss every upsetting feeling that drifted through her mind. She had work to do and work was just the thing she needed to drown herself in thoughts that didn’t include Josie.

* * *

Josie didn’t fare any better during the ride home. Unlike Sophia, Hope wasn’t as inclined to let the silence linger. God knows she would never get anything out of Penelope so she had little choice but to get the information from another source. “What did Penelope do?” 

Josie shrugged. “Nothing.” It wasn’t Penelope’s fault. Not completely. Yes, her words had hurt and her inability to admit her feelings were part of the problem, but it was just as much Josie’s fault as it was Penelope’s. Penelope had warned her from the start. Josie should have listened. She knew herself better than this. She knew that she couldn’t get close to someone without getting attached. Sex could never be just sex and Josie was silly to think she could handle it.

“You can tell me now or I can just hear it second-hand from Lizzie.” 

Josie frowned and pulled her eyes away from the window to look at Hope. “I didn’t know you two were talking to each other.”

“Talking is a very loose term.” For the most part, they would meet up, Lizzie would rant, they would get a bit high and then have sex. Lizzie didn’t care much about Hope’s life and she preferred it that way. It was kind of nice having someone fill in the silence with things that were actually more interesting than business and insults. “So what did Penelope do?”

Josie looked away. “Nothing,” Josie repeated. Hope was Penelope’s friend and rightfully should take her side. Despite being hurt, Josie didn’t want to say anything bad about Penelope. Penelope didn’t deserve it. They were both at fault. 

“You look like a kicked puppy and Penelope looked like she was the one that kicked you. You’re not fooling anyone.” 

Josie remained silent. 

Hope sighed. “She really cares about you, you know.” Hope had never seen Penelope like someone so much so she knew that whatever Penelope did to hurt her, there had to be a good reason for it. 

Hope’s words weren’t something Josie didn’t know. She could see the way Penelope looked at her. It wasn’t like she was an object or a friend. She meant something to Penelope and that was probably what scared her off. They both felt something but Penelope was too logical to live in the moment the same way Josie was. 

Penelope may have had a poker face but Josie was one of the few people she never played against. 

“What’s the worst thing she’s done?” Josie asked. Perhaps if she got to know the monster Penelope thought she was, Josie would actually be scared away. Maybe it’s what she needed to get rid of these feelings?

(Though part of her was hoping that she could accept it and they could be together.)

“That’s not for me to say…” Truthfully, Hope didn’t really know. Penelope let her in on the day to day business but when things got really dirty, she dealt with them herself. “But I know it haunts her. Penelope is one of the strongest people I know. If she is scared of her actions, you probably should be too.”

As much as Hope believed that Penelope needed someone like Josie in her life, someone to make her happy, it was the harsh truth that she really didn’t deserve her. The idea of redemption was beyond people like her and no amount of goodness would wipe away the bad. 

“You’re probably right.”

* * *

Weeks had gone by and neither Penelope nor Josie made an effort to talk to one another. For the most part, their lives returned to normal and it was like they hadn’t met. The only thing that would remind them that they had was Hope’s constant outings with Lizzie. Just like how Josie basically disappeared when she was with Penelope, Lizzie disappeared to be with Hope. It was fine though. They were adults now and didn’t need to spend every waking minute together. They had enough of that growing up as twins. 

Josie continued to stare blankly at her computer screen, not really able to focus on studying. Her mind was caught up thinking about Penelope and how many days she had left until she left Hong Kong for good. 

Ten.

She had ten days left to settle things before her flight back to Virginia. She pulled out her phone and scrolled to Penelope’s name, wondering if she should contact her. She really did want to see her again but it would probably do nothing but hurt the both of them more. It was a bad idea. She quickly swiped at the conversation and deleted it. What’s done was done; Josie would just have to live with her choice.

Her phone suddenly buzzed.

**Lizzie** : Get your ass downstairs, loser, we are getting dim sum.

**Josie** : I’m not hungry.

**Lizzie** : Did I ask?

**Lizzie** : Get down here or I’ll tell mom and dad you’ve been running around with a mobster.

**Josie** : You should also tell them you’ve been snorting coke daily first.

The door suddenly burst open and her sister was there. She grabbed Josie’s arm and began to drag her outside. “Stop living like a god damn hermit and come outside with me. Take in some of that lovely smoggy air that Hong Kong has to offer.” Josie crinkled her nose. Somehow Lizzie had managed to make it less appealing while trying to convince her to go out.

Still, she had little choice when her sister was practically dragging her outside. Lizzie was right. She really did need to do something other than mope in her room all day. Besides, they only had ten days left to spend together. Lizzie had decided to stay in Hong Kong for a little longer and Josie had a suspicion of why she was.

“You’ve been hanging out with Hope a lot,” Josie commented.

Lizzie nodded. “Why are you asking?”

“I don’t know… Isn’t that dangerous? That’s why Penelope and I broke up.” By now, Lizzie was already privy to all the mayhem that was Penelope and Josie’s relationship and knew exactly what Hope was.

“Why would it be? Hope’s not like Penelope. She doesn’t have a giant ass dragon tattoo on her back screaming in neon, ‘I’m the boss of the largest triad in Hong Kong’,” Lizzie mocked. Hope was a somewhat legit business owner who looked like she just ran in the wrong crowds. When they were out together, they looked like two white girls on a vacation. 

Josie winced at Lizzie’s words. It was too soon for her to be mocking her relationship.

Noticing her sister’s reaction, Lizzie sighed. “Look, Jo, no one cares who I run with. Let’s face it, most of my colleagues probably have associates in the HK underworld as well. It’s not weird for me to hang out with someone like Hope who is obviously my high-class drug dealer.” Hope had corrected her many times insisting that she wasn’t a drug dealer but she was providing their drugs so Lizzie didn’t see the difference. 

“Bur you? You want to be a doctor. Don’t doctors have to pass these good character tests or something? You can’t afford to be running around with known criminals.” That was one of the main differences between them. Hope couldn’t ruin Lizzie’s life the way Penelope could ruin Josie’s. 

Somehow, this talk was making Josie feel worse. All she wanted was to be able to spend time with Penelope without having to worry about anything but life was never that kind. Everyone kept telling her that Penelope was a criminal and that she was a bad person, but no amount of sour words could tarnish the image Josie had in her mind. Penelope was honest, kind, smart, brave, and strong. She had never done anything but respect Josie. None of her exes had treated Josie nearly as well as Penelope treated Josie and it had nothing to do with the money.

Penelope was a good person. 

Or at least, Penelope was a good person to her and Josie selfishly wanted to believe that was enough. 

Instead, she had to glue back the piece of her broken heart and enjoy what few days she had left with Lizzie. 

* * *

“Don’t scream or I’ll shoot.”

Josie had just gotten to her apartment door when she felt a cold metal jabbed into her back and those words whispered into her ear. She immediately froze, not able to process what was happening. How was someone supposed to react when held at gunpoint? Josie definitely didn’t know. “W-Who are you?” she dared to ask. 

The man didn’t answer, instead, she was directed downstairs and shoved into a van. The moment the door closed behind them, she was knocked out and the world around her disappeared. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A-Cing - Just Sophia referring to Penelope by her Canto name  
> A-Ma - Mom


	10. Powerless

When Josie regained consciousness, she was unable to see. A blindfold was tied tightly over her head and her hands were bound behind her back. It took her a second to remember how she got into this situation and while she remembered the actual kidnapping, she didn’t recall finding out why. “Hello?” she called, hoping someone was there to at least explain things. 

The blindfold was suddenly ripped from her head and she winced, the sudden light blinding her. 

“She doesn’t need that. She probably won’t be alive by the end of this.”

That was about the least reassuring thing Josie had heard in her life. Judging from the men around her, each and every one of them armed, this wasn’t a joke nor was it a far off reality. If these men wanted her dead, she would be dead. “What do you want from me?” she managed to ask, her throat completely dry. 

“We don’t want anything from you. You’re just bait.” Josie didn’t need to know who exactly they were baiting. 

She looked around her. It was a large warehouse with a few windows at the top. More armed men lined the bannisters upstairs and it was clear that they didn’t intend to let anyone in or out of this compound. Any attempt would lead to massive bloodshed and there was little chance that she would make it out if a battle broke anyway.

In other words, Josie was stuck and was most likely going to die here.

“She won’t come for me. We broke up,” Josie explained. It saddened her that she didn’t even have to lie about it. Penelope wouldn’t come. She had no reason to come. As much as Josie wanted more than anything for Penelope to burst through those doors and hold her in her arms, it was a fantasy.

“You better hope she comes for you or else we would have no use for you.” 

“ _ I don’t know, boss, she could probably fetch a good price. _ ” 

The boss contemplated it for a moment before nodding. It probably was a better idea--though he should probably try her out for himself before offering her to others. “ _ Make sure the Dragon knows we have her little bird _ ,” he ordered. “ _ Take her to the cell. _ ”

The man came over and roughly pulled her up, forcing her to the back of the warehouse before shoving her into a room. He reached back to cut the zip tie keeping her hands together before leaving the room, the door slamming behind him with a mocking click. 

Josie looked around the small cell. She must have been going crazy because she couldn’t help the laugh that left her. Of course, this would be how it ended. Penelope dumped her so that this wouldn’t happen just for it to happen anyway. There was too much irony in this situation and Josie found it hysterically funny.

At least until her back hit the wall and she collapsed into a mess of tears.

* * *

“ _ Boss! Some kid dropped this off for you. _ ” 

Penelope looked up from her work to see one of her men walking over to her with a package. Hope was seated close by and looked up, curious to know what it contained. Usually, when kids dropped things off, it was never a good sign. 

Penelope took the package from him and opened it up, dropping the contents of it onto her desk. The first thing that came out was an American passport. She looked over at Hope, the silent question in her eyes. Hope shook her head. She was pretty sure she didn’t lose her passport. She hadn’t gone travelling recently enough and Penelope’s home was like a fortress most of the time.

Penelope flipped through the book and her heart dropped the moment she saw Josie’s face printed on the page. Immediately, she shook the rest of the package. A photo of Josie unconscious and tied up dropped out of it and behind the photo was a little message: “ _ If you want her back, come and get her. _ ” 

Noticing Penelope’s sudden panic, Hope got up and took the picture from her, reading the contents for herself. “Penelope, no.” Hope immediately, put her hand on Penelope’s shoulder and shoved her right back down onto her chair. Penelope’s legs were too shaky to resist. “It’s a trap. They will kill you.”

“I don’t care!” Penelope tried to get up again, only for Hope to shove her back down. 

“I’m not going to let you go.”

Penelope gritted her teeth, her hands twisting into fists. She had never hurt Hope before but if she continued to stand in her way, Penelope would have no choice.“They have Josie, Hope!” Panic was consuming her and all the horrors that Josie must have been going through were rushing through her head. Stupid, stupid Penelope. She knew she should have set up a guard detail for Josie. It was just a few more days. How could she be so careless? 

“Penelope, this will kill you even if you manage to take her back alive.” They didn’t even know if Josie was still alive. Even if Penelope managed to out-gun them, many people would die in the process and there was no way Penelope can justify losing that many men over a girl. The elders would strip her of everything she had. “You can’t.”

Penelope got up and shoved Hope out of the way, marching towards her collection of weapons and arming herself. Whoever took Josie was going to pay and Penelope would be happy to do it personally. 

“I’m not going to let you do this, Penelope. It isn’t worth it.” Hope hated that she had to argue against saving Josie. The girl didn’t deserve any of this but it was always a risk. Love was a weakness--one that was so easily exploited. After that night in Macau, everyone knew Josie meant something to Penelope. The pictures of them in the background smiling was enough for anyone to see that they weren’t just friends.

“You can’t stop me, Hope,” Penelope challenged. 

When she met her friend’s eyes, Hope could see nothing but anger in them. Penelope wasn’t thinking clearly. Hope knew she was going to regret this but Penelope left her with no choice. Using the element of surprise, Hope sent a punch right into Penelope’s stomach, causing her to double over before she sent another strike right at the back of her neck. By the time Penelope hit the ground, she was knocked right out. “I hate it when you leave me no choice.” Hope sighed before pulling out her phone and making a call to Penelope’s mother.

“We have a problem.”

* * *

When Penelope came to, she groaned. The back of her neck was killing her and when she tried to move, her arms immediately hurt. Penelope knew that kind of pain. The pain that came from her arms being stuck for too long in a tied up position. It took her a second to process how she got here but when everything snapped into place, Penelope’s anger immediately returned.

“Hope!” Penelope shouted as she struggled against the ropes. 

Hope entered the room, her arms crossed. 

“Let me out of here!” Penelope demanded. The longer she was trapped in here, the lower Josie’s chances of survival were. Again, images of what Josie could be going through consumed her mind and she more desperately pulled against the restraints. 

“I can’t.” 

“Fuck! I swear to god, Hope, if you don’t let me ou--”

“Enough!” Her mother’s voice caused her to shut up immediately. She knew that tone. It was a stark contrast to her playful one. Sophia liked to play an excited mom but there was a reason she was the matriarch of this organization. The woman appeared behind Hope, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Thank you, Hope. I’ll take it from here.”

Hope nodded and left the room, a small click of the lock sounded behind her. 

“Mom, I need to go rescue her!” Penelope continued to struggle. Why couldn’t anyone see how important this was? She couldn’t sit back and let them hurt Josie. She couldn’t lose her--not in this way.

She was ready for Josie to get on a plane, fly away, and for them to never see each other again. She was ready to sit back and hear from Hope and Lizzie how Josie met someone new and had fallen in love, no matter how much her heart would crumble at the news. She had made the selfless decision to let Josie go so that she would be safe.

If she wasn’t even safe, Penelope’s decision no longer mattered. 

Nothing mattered. 

Sophia said nothing. She simply took a chair and sat in front of her tied up daughter. “You will not.”

“Mom, please!” Penelope begged. Penelope was getting more desperate now. She pulled against the restraints to the point where her wrists were beginning to bleed. Pain was mental. She had gone through worse. It meant nothing compared to the pain of knowing that every second, Josie was closer and closer to death.

If she wasn’t already dead.

Penelope shook her head. She couldn’t think like that. She could save Josie. 

“Hope got her sister to call the police. They will handle it from here.”

The police? The moment those idiots came blazing in with their stupid sirens, Josie was as good as dead. Her mother knew that. They all knew that. It wasn’t stupidity that drove this decision--it was a callous lack of concern. Josie was just another girl caught up in this unfortunate mess.

A mess that Penelope had dragged her into. 

“You love her, don’t you?” Sophia watched as the realization sunk into Penelope. She didn’t have to answer; they both knew. Penelope stopped struggling and all that was left was a broken girl with tears falling out of her eyes. It pained Sophia to see Penelope like this but she would watch this for the rest of her life if it meant that Penelope was safe. She could have her daughter hate her for the rest of her life as long as she was alive.

Penelope couldn’t save Josie and trying would only cost Penelope her life. Everyone but Penelope could see that.

* * *

Josie had no idea what was going on outside nor did she really know how much time had passed. The box of takeout was still by the door, untouched. She didn’t want to eat. What was the point? They were going to kill her anyway. Compared to the many other things they could do to her, death seemed like the best option. Letting her go definitely wasn’t. Not after all of this effort. 

Josie curled her legs into herself and buried her face in them, willing this nightmare to just end. 

She closed her eyes and let herself imagine that this was some sort of nightmare, one where Penelope would come bursting in at any moment to save her. They would kiss and they could be together. Except Josie knew this wasn’t a fairytale. Real-life didn’t work that way. They had this place surrounded and Penelope was only one person. She couldn’t save her. 

Josie wondered: would Penelope even try?

In this moment, everything else, all the obstacles between them felt like nothing now. They were all nothing compared to the suffocating feeling in her chest. She was going to die and she wouldn’t even get a chance to say goodbye. 

The steel door made a large clang as it opened, the boss, Joseph, entering the room. He had two armed men by his side and Josie almost wanted to make a jab about how pathetic it was that he thought he needed them to handle her. She thought better of it though. Unlikes her sister, she didn’t always feel the need to have the last word. 

“Looks like your girlfriend isn’t coming.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Josie repeated. “She doesn’t care about me.” Somehow those words hurt, even though they were coming out of her own mouth. 

Joseph sighed. “Looks like my men got it wrong.” He had hoped that Penelope would respond but it had been three days and there wasn’t even a single sign of movement from the other triad. Business went on as usual and Joseph’s men were getting restless. “You are special to her, however. You’ve lasted longer than any of her other whores.” 

Josie bit her lip and looked away. It was probably better to accept it as the truth. She knew Penelope had feelings for her but what was the point in arguing it now? 

All she could think about was what brought her to this point; the stupid decisions that Penelope had warned her about. Insecurity began to seep into her again. Penelope really wasn’t going to rescue her. Maybe she was fooling herself into thinking Penelope cared? Penelope was right. She should have never gotten to know her. The darkness that surrounded Penelope’s life had seeped into her own and it was one that couldn’t be washed away. As she sat there, helpless and lost, she could feel it beginning to consume her whole. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My friends,
> 
> I have encountered some writer's block so please be patient with me over the next few chapters. I'm having some trouble writing and when I finish a chapter, I don't feel completely satisfied with them. It's causing me to constantly re-start chapters and the next few updates may be slower as a result (though let's be real, I update so often that slow is probably, at most, four days). 
> 
> But I will be completing this story!


	11. Time

“Fuck!” Penelope punched her fists against the wall. It didn’t matter to her that her hand was bleeding and that she could very well break a few bones. All she could think about was Josie. Every hour that ticked by was torturous and Penelope was slowly beginning to lose her mind.

“Please…” Penelope dropped onto the floor, tears streaming down her eyes. She had to get out. She had to get to Josie. If Josie died, Penelope didn’t know what she would do. 

Hope watched from the door as Penelope broke, her heart breaking at just the sight. This was the right thing. Hope knew that it was the right thing. They couldn’t lose Penelope. Hope knew her friend too well to let her free. Penelope cared for very little but when she cared, there was no force more powerful than her love. 

She sighed and walked back upstairs. Sophia was in her office, taking care of business while Penelope was confined downstairs. “How is she?”

“I think her hand might be broken but…”

Sophia sighed. She hated knowing that her daughter was in so much pain, but Penelope was her father’s daughter and stupidly reckless like him. “Has your friend told you how the investigation is going?”

“Lizzie won’t talk to me.” Ever since Hope told her what had happened and how they were powerless to save her sister, Lizzie had refused to talk to her. They were in the dark and all they had was the news to keep them updated. Every once in a while, she would glance at a stray TV screen and see the face of Josie’s parents. They had flown all the way here the moment they heard their daughter was missing and even the American government was getting involved. Josie’s nationality made this a diplomatic disaster and they were doing everything they could to find her. 

They were doing more than Penelope could even if Penelope refused to admit it. 

* * *

Josie could do nothing but sit in her cell. She was practically comatose as she stared at the wall in front of her. She didn’t know what day it was or how long she had been trapped here but it was long enough for every bit of her hope to slip away. Right now, she just wished they would end all of their miseries and kill her already. There was little life left in her body. All that was left was the tightness of her chest and the ache of her muscles. It was just torture, really. Every day that they had to wait, the men got less and less patient. Most had even returned to their regular lives--pretty confident that Penelope wasn’t coming.

They say that if someone was gone for over 48 hours, the chances of finding them were low. 

She really didn’t know what they were still waiting for. 

Penelope wasn’t coming.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the blare of sirens and shouting from outside her cell. Josie sat up and the door suddenly burst open. “Looks like your time is up, sweetie.” He walked over to her gripped her by the neck. The cops were still far enough away that they could escape, but only if they were quiet. It wasn’t a big deal though--there were easy ways to kill her without making a fuss. She had seen too much and if they couldn’t get Penelope herself, they would at least make her suffer. 

He held her up against the wall and tightened his grip, squeezing her neck with as much force as he could. Josie struggled against his grip but days of starvation left her barely able to lift her arms let alone push him away. She could remember the signs: her body began to panic, pain shooting throughout it, and her head felt like it wanted to explode. This was it. Her body slumped and she stopped fighting as the world around her once again began to disappear.

It only took seconds for Josie to lose consciousness. 

He held on until he knew her fate was sealed.

* * *

“No, absolutely not!” Lizzie glared at the group that had just appeared. Hope was standing next to an exhausted-looking Penelope, asking to go in, but they would have to walk over her dead body to do so. Ever the brave one, she walked right up to Penelope, her eyes showing nothing but disdain for the smaller woman. “This is your fault,” she declared, her voice low and deadly. It was just out of her parent’s reach but loud enough for Hope to hear her.

“Hey, that’s not--” Hope was glared into silence by Lizzie. 

Lizzie’s hands were clenched into fists and it took her everything in her power not to raise it to Penelope. They were in a hospital and Lizzie couldn’t make a scene but she was about ready to kill Penelope herself, even if she logically knew she couldn’t win. Lizzie was angry and Penelope should be damn glad her anger had already been exercised before her arrival. 

Penelope, on the other hand, remained silent and couldn’t meet Lizzie in the eyes. She was right. This was her fault and frankly, she had no business being here. She was hoping she could at least catch one glimpse of Josie, even just to say goodbye, but she didn’t deserve it. 

“Honey, who are they?” Caroline spoke up, wondering why her daughter was so tense with these people around.

Hope immediately interjected, “Penelope is Josie’s girlfriend.”

Lizzie sent Hope a glare as Caroline’s eyes widened. “Girlfriend?” Caroline looked over at her daughter for confirmation but it was clear that Lizzie wasn’t willing to give one. “Either way, if they are friends with Josie, I’m sure she would want them to see her.” 

Caroline walked past Lizzie and offered both the girls a sad smile. “Why don’t you two follow me? I’m sure Josie would appreciate you visiting.” 

Penelope and Hope didn’t have to be told twice and immediately rushed after Caroline. When they arrived in the hospital room, Penelope immediately rushed to Josie’s side. Her hand found Josie’s and she took them in her own, nothing but absolute worry on her face.

“They… they don’t know if she’ll wake up,” Caroline explained, barely able to stop her voice from cracking. Penelope’s eyes went down to the dark bruises on Josie’s neck, reading the situation for herself. “Her brain was cut off for a few minutes…” At this point, there was no telling what would happen to Josie. She may never wake up and if she did, she could be a completely different person. 

Hope took a deep breath. She couldn’t help but feel equally responsible for this. She had stopped Penelope from doing anything to help her. Again, she couldn’t doubt her decision, but that didn’t mean she made a moral one. “Is it okay if we give them a few minutes?” Hope asked, turning to Caroline.

Caroline considered it before nodding. From the way Penelope was looking at Josie, she could see there was something deeper here and, while it was a long shot, maybe having Penelope around would trigger something in Josie. 

As Penelope stood by Josie’s unconscious body, she could feel her own breaking down. Josie was paler, thinner, and the dark marks that littered her skin felt like they had been a blow directly from Penelope herself. “I’m sorry,” Penelope whispered, finally allowing her tears to fall now that they were alone. “I’m so, so sorry.” Penelope had never spoken those words with truer intent. This was all her fault. If she hadn’t let herself give in to her own selfish desires, Josie wouldn’t be hurt like this. Even with all her power, she was helpless to protect Josie. 

Josie didn’t move. 

Penelope wasn’t the type to handle pain and sadness for long, however. She was a woman of action and what she couldn’t do for Josie, she directed to the people who did this. Whoever did this to Josie was not going to get away with it. She would root out every person involved and kill them one by one, She couldn’t go guns blazing into a trap but she for sure could make them pay when they least expected it. But for now, all she wanted was to be by Josie’s side...

Hope watched Penelope from outside the hospital room, keeping Caroline company as she similarly watched this stranger cry over her daughter. “If you’ll allow us, we would like to get some specialists in to see her. Not that the doctors here aren’t good, but it couldn’t hurt to have multiple eyes look at her file.” Hope explained.

Caroline’s eyes widened and she nervously bit her lip. “I couldn’t ask you to--”

“We insist, Ms. Forbes. Penelope cares deeply for your daughter.” And feeling wholly responsible but that wasn’t a confession they could make to Josie’s mother. 

“I can’t say no…”

“The doctors will all be reporting to you, of course. We just want Josie to get the best care.” Hope looked back at Penelope, her heart squeezing painfully at the sight of her best friend. While she undoubtedly planned her revenge, Hope could take care of the smaller things. Sometimes Penelope’s rage could only be quelled with violence and this was one of those times. Hope would always be around to clean the mess that was left in her wake. 

Penelope didn’t know how long she had been sitting by Josie’s bedside but she knew she had to do more than this. “I promise I’ll come back.” She leaned forward and placed a small kiss on Josie’s forehead, allowing herself one last look at Josie before she wiped away her tears and left the room. Hope didn’t need to hear a word to know what was coming next. Penelope’s eyes were dark, the anger brimming dangerously under the surface. This wasn’t a wave of impulsive anger, it was methodological. Josie was safe which meant Penelope was free to wreak as much havoc as she wanted. 

The moment they were out of earshot, Penelope turned to Hope. “If you try to stop me again, I won’t hold back.” 

Hope raised her hands in surrender. “Just be smart about it. Josie deserves your apology in person when she wakes up.” This Penelope was the one she trusted. The one that would wait years if need be to thoroughly destroy her enemies. Penelope was a strategist and without her chaotic emotions clouding her path, she could see the environment clearly. 

* * *

Three months. 

It had been three months since Josie had been found and there had been no changes to her condition. It was slow and painful as Josie’s loved ones tried to return to their normal lives. Caroline and Alaric couldn’t stay in Hong Kong forever and flying Josie back to America was too risky. Lizzie stayed, however, and was given strict instructions to call the moment anything happened regarding Josie.

Penelope was busy at work, drowning her pain and sorrow into anger and destroying anyone in her path. Even the elders were impressed at Penelope’s sudden dedication and overachievement. They didn’t know what caused it but as long as Penelope was clearing districts and converting them to their own, they had no complaints. Meetings were quick and simple, consisting of Penelope giving them updates and storming out before any of them could even raise an objection. 

The Dragon was burning everything in her path, and while it was disturbingly destructive, it got results. 

Nevertheless, Penelope always spared at least one hour a day to visit Josie. Often, her visits were filled with silence and Penelope just staring at Josie, hoping for a hint of movement or life in her, but other times, she would talk. She would tell stories about her childhood and entertain all the questions Josie had given her that Penelope was once too cool to answer. 

Bearing her heart to an unconscious Josie was easy, but Penelope promised that she would retell every story if Josie wanted her to. She just needed to wake up.

“Oh, you’re here.”

Penelope didn’t need to turn around to know that it was Lizzie that had just entered the room. They had avoided each other for the most part and Hope had been mending bridges but Lizzie still blamed Penelope and Penelope never once denied her responsibility. “Would you like me to leave?”

Lizzie sighed and shook her head. “No. Josie having company is better than her being alone.” For the past few months, Lizzie had been feeling empty. She didn’t know if it was her own from the loss of her twin or Josie’s emptiness reaching out to her. Lizzie hoped it was the latter. Selfishly, she would have preferred Josie being lonely and trying to reach her than the possibility that she was feeling empty because Josie was just gone. The thought of their connection severing is more than Lizzie could take.

She walked over to Josie’s other side and took a seat before reaching for Josie’s hand. She closed her eyes and willed herself to feel something as she held it. They had always had a magical connection to one another (as ridiculous as that seemed), and Lizzie was desperately trying to reach out to it. She needed anything--anything to tell her that Josie was still there. 

After a few hopeless moments, she opened her eyes, meeting Penelope’s, who was watching Lizzie. “They asked me if I want to… They don’t think she’s going to wake up.” Lizzie hadn’t discussed it with her own parents yet. She didn’t know how to approach it. Frankly, Lizzie was regretting the fact that she even convinced Josie to give her the power to make decisions in the first place. It had been a joke. A spur of the moment decision when they both realized that no one knew them better than they knew each other. Their parents would always be parents and they wanted to spare them the pain. 

As much as it hurt Lizzie to say the next part out loud, Lizzie tearfully did so. “I’m considering it.” 

Penelope’s eyes widened and she immediately shook her head. “Don’t do it. She’ll wake up, I know she will.” There was no way Penelope was going to give up on Josie. This couldn’t be the end--she refused to let it be the end.

“Josie wouldn’t want this, Penelope. She wouldn’t want us to pause our life for her, nor would she want to be stuck like this.” Lizzie knew that was what her sister would want. “I can’t… not yet. I’m a terrible sister,” Lizzie confessed. She wasn’t ready to give up either, unfortunately for Josie, Lizzie had always been selfish. Any indecision about this was made because Lizzie didn’t want it, not because Josie didn’t. “But I have to think about it.” 

“No. You don’t. She will wake up. I don’t care how long we have to wait or how much it costs. I won’t give up on her.”

“It’s not your decision, Penelope,” Lizzie stated. Josie was  _ her _ sister. Her  _ twin _ sister. In many ways, it was offensive that Penelope dared to think she knew or loved Josie more. “She’s my other half, not yours. Your few months together would never outmatch the twenty-five years we’ve had. At least half of those twenty-five years were side-by-side, together.” Lizzie hated that she had to justify herself but she knew that Penelope was fucking stubborn and would get in the way if Lizzie didn’t assert herself. 

“You consider it all you want, but it’s not happening.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Miss me?
> 
> Sorry it took so long for me to update. My writer's block has been kicking my ass and I still don't think I've recovered from it. But I decided that I won't second guess myself and just write. The truth is, I'll rarely be completely satisfied with my writing so why keep people waiting? Regardless, I'm not going to put as much pressure on myself to write and turn out quick updates because I really don't need to.
> 
> Thank you all for your support and patience :)


	12. The Better Twin

“How are you holding up?” Hope sat down next to Lizzie, offering her a bottle of water. The twin looked tired, more tired than Hope had ever seen her. Hospitals were exhausting and Lizzie spent practically every free second waiting for her sister. Despite the cold shoulder and Lizzie’s mean exterior, Lizzie loved her sister and would do anything for her. 

Lizzie took the bottle and gave Hope a small ‘thank you’ and smile. The initial plan was to stay mad at Hope but she needed a friend and Hope was there. Besides, she didn’t have the energy to stay mad. “What are you doing here?” Lizzie asked. 

“I just wanted to check up on you.”

Lizzie smirked. “Careful, dwarf, I’m going to start thinking you care.”

“I do.” Hope smiled. Their game was to bicker back and forth in a love-hate manner but Hope really did care. 

Lizzie bit her bottom lip, not sure how to handle Hope’s newfound affection. It was nice but it wasn’t something Lizzie expected. It had been hookups and parties. It wasn’t supposed to be ‘sitting in front of the hospital as her sister was at death’s door’. Still, it was nice. 

“Why don’t we get out of here? I want to show you something.” Hope got up and offered her hand for Lizzie to take. 

Lizzie quirked her brow. “Your boobs are great but I’ve already seen them.”

Hope rolled her eyes, a smile on her lips. “At this rate, you’ll never get to see them again, Rapunzel.”

“How will I ever survive?” Lizzie took Hope’s hand and let her lead her away from the depressing building. She needed a break from all the waiting and Lizzie didn’t have anything going for her here anyway. All she could think about was how close she was to signing the papers to end it all. 

It didn’t take long for Hope to drive them to wherever they were going but the walk was a bit longer. It was also dark and strangely abandoned. 

“You’re not going to murder me, are you?” Lizzie joked. 

“If I was, I’d take out your knees first. You’d never see it coming.” Hope opened the door and gestured for Lizzie to enter. The room was lowly lit but it didn’t take long for the familiar sounds to hit her ears. 

Before Lizzie could say anything, she was tossed a pair of gloves. “What do you say, blondie? Think you can take me on?” While their meetings usually included little talking, there was enough for Hope to know that Lizzie loved boxing and it always helped her even out her emotions. 

Lizzie smirked. “Are you sure I won’t get arrested for child abuse?”

“I’m a lot stronger than I look,” Hope retorted, already getting herself ready. 

“Oh, I know.” It didn’t just take nice boobs to have great sex. 

* * *

Lizzie didn’t know how much time had passed by the time they stopped. All she knew was that she was sweating, exhausted, and thoroughly distracted. She wasn’t expecting a match with Hope to be a walk in the park. Still, she was able to keep up no matter how rusty she was. 

“Admit it, you just wanted to see me sweating and half-naked,” Lizzie joked as they settled on the bench.

“An added benefit.” 

A small silence drifted between them as they sat there. Unfortunately, the silence only made Lizzie’s mind return to the thoughts she didn’t want to think about. “My dad taught me how to box,” Lizzie started, needing to fill the silence. “It was a way to control my moods. Instead of self-destructing, I would channel that energy into destroying a punching bag… or my poor dad.” She smiled thinking about the many times he would be aching after a specifically hard day. “Dad always wanted to invite Josie to join us, but I always told him not to.”

Hope raised her brow, From what she knew, the twins did basically everything together when they were younger. “Why’s that?”

“I was selfish and didn’t want to share my dad’s attention,” Lizzie bluntly stated. It was rare for either of them to spend time with their parents without the other and while Lizzie didn’t mind Josie being around, there was just something more satisfying having her dad care only about her. “It’s kind of ironic. I might actually get what I always wanted but in the worst way.” 

Hope frowned. “Don’t think like that.” She hated how hopeless Lizzie felt. It was strange to see the woman who was always so full of energy retreat into herself like this. Hope hadn’t heard a good insult coming from Lizzie’s mouth in the past three months and it was actually really depressing. 

“I don’t think I can stay, Hope,” Lizzie confessed. “If I lose her, I won’t be able to stay here. It would hurt too much.” She turned to look at Hope, gauging her reaction. 

Hope deflated but there was nothing but understanding in her eyes. She didn’t think she would be able to do it either. “I don’t blame you.” Lizzie didn’t need to seek permission from her, though it was nice to have a warning. “Where would you go?”

“I don’t know.” For the first time in her life, she would have to make that decision alone. 

* * *

When they had returned to the hospital, they weren’t surprised to see that Penelope was there, sitting by Josie’s bedside. None of them needed to talk and simply sat in silence, the jarring beeps of the machines filling the tense air. The scene was utterly heartbreaking and Lizzie didn’t know how much more of this she could take. Her parents had always protected her and her sister from major loss and trauma so Lizzie didn’t really know how to deal with it now that she was staring at it in the face.

“Can I have a moment, please?” Lizzie suddenly asked, prompting both Hope and Penelope to quizzically look at her. Nevertheless, it was her sister so they wordlessly obliged. Penelope needed to get some fresh air anyway.

Lizzie took her sister’s hand between her own and rested her forehead against their hands--almost as if she were in prayer. “If you leave me, I’ll never forgive you,” Lizzie managed to jokingly mutter. Her words were strained and she was trying her best to keep her tears from falling. “I had a solid fifty-year plan, Josie. Don’t go screwing it up on me.”

She opened her eyes and stared at her sister. “We’d be roomies until I inevitably get married first. You’d be my patient maid of honour while I go freaking bridezilla on everyone. I even had the beginning of your speech written for you!” Of course, there was no way Lizzie would let Josie embarrass her without her oversight. All the embarrassing stories and jokes that Josie finished her speech off with would also have to be approved. Lizzie knew Josie would just roll her eyes and accept it because there was no other way to deal with Lizzie when she kept an updated binder full of fully developed wedding plans.

“We would definitely always live in the same neighbourhood, in case my future spouse annoys me, which is highly possible, so I’d be able to crash at your place.” And by crash, Lizzie meant that they would cuddle and everything would just feel better. Unless they were mad at each other, there was nothing a cuddle couldn’t cure for them. They were lucky. They were born as a set and, no matter how hopeless things would seem sometimes, they knew that they were never alone. Most people feared being alone but that had never been a concern for her and her twin. They knew they would always have each other. Josie was a constant. 

Yet there Lizzie was, sitting with her sister and feeling more lonely and scared than ever. 

“You’d also probably move in with someone you love. Maybe not marry because the institution is archaic and misogynistic and yadda yadda yadda.” Lizzie knew that Josie had a soft spot for certain traditions and it wasn’t to say Josie would never want to get married, but Lizzie also knew that whoever Josie picked would be someone as stubborn and smart as she was. “But I’d kick them out of the bed regardless.”

She lifted her head and kissed the back of her sister’s hand. “Because no one could ever get between us.”

Unfortunately, death wasn’t a person.

“I’d have kids, you’d have kids. They would grow up together and mom and dad would insist that we need to visit them more often. We’d tell them that we would but we’d probably too busy, between family and our amazing kick-ass careers, and they would have to come to us instead.” The images were so clear in her head but she could almost see the pieces shattering as she described it.

“We’ll both reach the top of our field. You’ll save lives while I destroy them as one of those capitalistic drones you hate so much. But I think karma-wise, we’d even each other out. Sure, you’ll be the only one generating positive karma but I can help you in your endeavours to save the children or whatever. I’ll write the cheques and help with the more boring business stuff.” What could Lizzie say? Her selfishness outweighed her compassion. They balanced each other out. Josie was the yin to her yang.

“Then the kids would grow up and leave us and our spouses will probably die off earlier than us because they had to deal with the stress of being with us. When we are both old, useless, and single, our kids will be ungrateful, spoiled children and send us to a retirement home where we’ll spend the rest of our lives as decrepit mouldy raisins.” Lizzie scrunched her face just thinking about it.

“Most importantly, I was supposed to die first. Don’t be a selfish bitch, Josie. Think of me for once,” she teased. She managed a small smile but by the end of her rant, the tears were falling and she couldn’t do anything but bury her face into her sister’s side--the smell of hospital sterility haunting her. “You’re not allowed to leave me alone.” 

Lizzie didn’t know how long she stayed that way, but she was thankful that the other two were giving her as much time as she needed. Not that it wasn’t her right, but Penelope was annoyingly clingy and Hope was too soft and caring that Lizzie would have thought she would have tried to help by now. Lizzie just needed to be alone with her sister and be mad at Josie without judgment. She was always the selfish one in their relationship--Josie brought it upon herself, really. 

In fact, she was so selfish that she almost missed Josie’s hand twitch because she was so caught in her own misery. Luckily, time had actually taught her to care about her sister so there was no fucking way she was missing that twitch. Her eyes immediately widened and she got up, needing to look directly at her sister’s face. “Josie?” she called. “Josie, wake up!”

All Lizzie could do was wait and stare, hoping that what she felt wasn’t a figment of her own imagination. When Josie’s eyes began to move, Lizzie held her breath and when they opened, Lizzie didn’t think she had ever felt so happy in her life. “Josie?”

Josie looked up at her sister but couldn’t respond. Her body felt unbelievably heavy and her throat was painfully dry. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought she was dead. Still, just her eyes were enough for Lizzie to understand. The unmistakable softness that was simply _Josie_ was reflected in her eyes and Lizzie just knew her sister was back. She didn’t know if she was back fully but Lizzie would take anything. As long as Josie was awake, they could worry about the rest later.

Lizzie immediately got up and ran to the door. “Someone call a doctor!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I considered holding out on this chapter for a few days because I wanted to let the situation simmer but I figured I've deprived you guys of Josie and Penelope interaction for so long that it's just getting to the point where it's cruel.


	13. Faith

No one but Lizzie was allowed to see Josie for the first few hours. After the doctors came in to witness her miraculous awakening, there was not much they could really do but give Josie time to rest. As much as Penelope wanted to enter the room, Lizzie ignored her requests, deeming it too soon. Josie’s memory was fuzzy but she remembered her captivity and Lizzie was afraid seeing Penelope would trigger it. For now, it was best not to overwhelm her. 

“Three months?” Josie repeated, seemingly not believing that she had been out that long. Though, it would explain why her body felt like someone had poured cement into it. She could barely lift a muscle but her ability to feel her limbs were intact so the lack of oxygen didn’t seem to do much to her physical abilities. 

As for her mind? Only time would really tell. For now, she was speaking, she recognized her sister, and was emotionally stable considering how traumatic her experiences had been before she passed out. 

Lizzie nodded. She was seated beside her sister on the bed as Josie rested her head on her shoulder. There was a long road to recovery ahead for Josie but Lizzie would be with her every step of the way. Frankly, Lizzie had already told her boss she wouldn’t be coming in for a month and if he had a problem with that, he could simply fire her. Lizzie didn’t care. After nearly losing her sister, the only thing that mattered was spending time with her. 

“I think this is the longest you’ve ever been silent,” Josie joked, hoping to ease the tension she could feel coming from her sister. Lizzie had always been a stiff person--it came with her intense personality--but this was to a whole other level. 

“I was ranting at you just before you woke up. It’s not my fault you were playing sleeping beauty and missed it,” Lizzie retorted, though there was no real kick behind her voice. “It was quite a rant.”

Josie smiled. She could only imagine the things Lizzie complained to her about while she was out. After all, she was the only person conscious who would patiently listen to all of them and Josie probably made a better audience unconscious. Lizzie never needed advice so much as she needed a rubber duck to talk and explain things to before solving the issue herself (often during midthought). Josie had mastered the skill of pretending to listen. 

“Was it about me?”

Lizzie playfully rolled her eyes. “Totally. I was ranting about how you were being a selfish bitch by taking the longest nap ever. I had to clean our apartment solo for three whole months!”

“I wasn’t even there to contribute to the mess…”

“That’s not the point.” 

Josie breathlessly laughed, causing Lizzie to smile in return. Lizzie didn’t think she would ever miss something so much. “I love you, Jo.”

The way Lizzie said it told Josie that they were heading down a serious path and Josie was too tired to deal with anything serious right now. She couldn’t even imagine what it was like for her sister these past few months. Josie was lucky to be blissfully asleep the entire time. If the positions were reversed, she didn’t think she would be able to deal with the thought of losing Lizzie for that long without going crazy. Lizzie was stronger than her in that regard. Intense emotions defined her sister’s entire life so she knew how to properly cope with them. 

“Even if I made you clean our apartment for three months?” 

Picking up on Josie’s intentions, Lizzie avoided getting serious. “Yes, but you’re not getting out of it scot-free just because I love you.”

Josie lifted her tired arm and poked Lizzie’s chest. “Are you sure there’s a heart in there to love me with? I’m not sensing any sympathy here.” Really, it was just an excuse to wrap her arm around her sister so she could cuddle into her. 

“Please, Josie, when have you ever known me to sympathize with anyone? You’re no exception.” 

When Lizzie didn’t get a response, she looked down at her sister. Josie was fast asleep. Since Josie woke up, Lizzie hadn’t had a moment to herself so now that Josie was asleep, Lizzie finally allowed herself to break down in relief; Josie was okay.

* * *

Penelope continued to pace back and forth down the hall. People were looking at her strangely but one well-placed glare was enough to make those curious Asian eyes to turn away and mind their own business. 

“You’re going to give me a headache if you keep doing that,” Hope stated. It had been hours since doctors left the room and while the doctors were able to assure them that everything was okay, they hadn’t heard a word yet. 

“This is the only thing stopping me from marching right in there.” Penelope wanted nothing more than to run into Josie’s room, rules be damned, but she knew she had no right to force her presence on Josie. Not after what had happened. This was all her fault and it was only right that she should do everything in her power to put Josie’s needs above her own. For all she knew, Josie hated her and the last thing Josie needed was to agitate her.

Penelope stopped, the thought felt like an arrow to the chest. What if Josie hated her? It was very possible. She was the reason she got hurt and Penelope couldn’t even do a fucking thing to help. Penelope didn’t have the time to care when Josie was unconscious and any moment could have been her last but now that she was awake, the possibility became all the more real. 

Penelope didn’t know if she could handle Josie telling her that she hated her. 

“Pen?” Hope called, noticing the dread that suddenly clouded over Penelope’s face.

“I should go home.” Without waiting for Hope, she marched towards the exit. 

“What?” Hope got up and followed. Luckily, Penelope was as short as she was so it wasn’t hard to catch up. Hope hadn’t realized until she was walking beside Lizzie that she had to take nearly double the steps to keep up with Lizzie’s one. Needless to say, Lizzie had stomped away from her many times and Hope was able to get in her daily cardio whenever she did so. 

“I shouldn’t bother her. What if she doesn’t even want to see me?”

Hope was about to tell Penelope she was wrong but Hope didn’t really know if she was and she didn’t want to lie. The last thing they needed was to get Penelope’s hopes up. The fall would break her heart and Penelope’s heart hadn’t recovered from the bruises to it yet. “How about we call Lizzie tomorrow and see how Josie’s feeling?”

Penelope stopped. She sighed and defeatedly nodded. That was all they could do and even that felt like too much. Surely, Lizzie had her hands full with Josie and keeping her parents updated. 

The drive home was silent as Penelope continued to think about how she would approach Josie or whether she should do it at all. There was no telling what Josie’s reaction would be though the pessimist in her believed that she would be lucky not to be tossed out of the room. They weren’t even together anymore, even if Penelope lied to her parents and said otherwise. 

Penelope rolled around in her bed for hours as she considered her options. Thoughts of Josie were all-consuming and more powerful during the late hours of the night. With nothing to distract her, Penelope spiraled. What started as a conscious debate became a mess of sad emotions. Penelope missed Josie. Three months and all she could still think about was Josie. There was not a day she didn’t. 

Before Penelope even knew it, she had fallen. Fast and hard. Her life was a landmine and every step triggered thoughts of Josie. In a short period of time, Josie had slid into every part of Penelope’s daily routine. The loss only made it more clear just how much she consumed her. There was an emptiness left behind without her. Penelope couldn’t fill it no matter how much she tried. 

While she hoped to be reunited, part of her understood that perhaps they were over. That even if she did wake up, Penelope would never see her again and that it would be by Josie’s design. Perhaps this was faith? The helpless belief that something will happen despite the powerlessness of her situation to prove it so. Even with the logical doubts that plagued her mind, Penelope had to have faith that all this waiting would be worth it. 

Penelope was setting herself up to have her heart ripped out and was utterly powerless to protect it. 

Sleep? Penelope didn’t know her. 

* * *

Lizzie's lips were pressed into a hard line as she stared at the woman sleeping fairly uncomfortably on the hospital waiting chairs. She had taken a momentary break from taking care of her sister to grab herself a snack and there Penelope was—asleep but nevertheless waiting patiently. 

So maybe Lizzie did have sympathy for people? She definitely was feeling it right now; Penelope looked exhausted. Lizzie wasn’t sure anyone deserved the torture of having to sit and wait to see someone they love come back to life after three months of hope-destroying lifelessness. 

Yet, despite all of Penelope’s entitlement, she respected Josie’s autonomy to choose and didn’t assert her own needs. Lizzie appreciated that. She knew that she wouldn’t have the same level of self-control if the situation were reversed. 

Lizzie left Penelope sleeping there and returned to Josie’s room. She didn’t want to agitate her sister but she also didn’t want to extend Penelope’s pain. Lizzie knew Josie wouldn’t want to do that either. “Penelope’s waiting outside.”

The name caused Josie to freeze. She furrowed her brows at her sister, not sure if she heard correctly. “Why?” Josie’s eyes went down to her hands, a frown on lips. It seemed like a stupid question to ask considering the way Lizzie’s face twisted into disbelief yet Josie’s confusion was nothing but genuine. 

_ Why was Penelope here? _

Lizzie waited a few seconds to let Josie process because her brain had to be a bit slow and needed that time to not know the answer to that question. When she was met by silence, she sighed. “Why don’t you ask her? I can invite her in.” 

Josie’s eyes didn’t leave her hands. She didn’t know what to think. She had convinced herself so thoroughly that Penelope didn’t care about her that she couldn’t even fathom why Penelope would bother seeing her. Perhaps it was to clear her conscience? Penelope wasn’t heartless, after all. It must have weighed on her in some way. If she needed absolution, Josie would give it to her because that was the kind of person she was. 

But not right now. 

Right now, a wave of anger was beginning to bubble in her. She had every right to be angry, didn’t she? She was abandoned and quite literally left to die. Somewhere in her mind, she knew Penelope couldn’t be faulted for someone else’s actions and that the situation was perhaps completely out of Penelope’s hands but Josie’s emotions weren’t in control. Her mind was cloudy and she was only capable of making a direct connection between what had happened and Penelope. 

The only piece of clarity that she had was that she didn’t deserve this pain she was feeling. 

“Tell her she can go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote half of this at 3-4AM in the morning as I was rolling in bed missing someone too. I apologize if it does not make much sense but I asked Rolly to read it over so you can blame her if it doesn't!


	14. No Excuses

Lizzie baulked at Josie’s blunt response. Tell her to go away? Now that was one thing Lizzie didn’t expect to ever have to do on Josie’s behalf. Still, she could see that her sister was agitated and while she could have advocated on Penelope’s behalf, now wasn’t the time. Josie didn’t need further reason to be worked up.

“I’ll go tell her now. She’s been waiting out there for hours.” Lizzie waited to see if that would prompt Josie to respond, but instead, Josie went back to one of her books, undisturbed by the news. Josie was rarely angry so it was easy to tell when she was. This silence and unwillingness to engage were all too familiar to Lizzie. Josie’s greatest gift to people was her attention and affection so without it, the world seemed chillier. 

Lizzie left her sister be so that she could go see Penelope. The woman was still asleep and she felt bad for waking her but it was probably better for Penelope to sleep at home than in that uncomfortable chair. She reached out and gave Penelope a little shake. “Wake up.”

It took Penelope a few seconds to register what was happening but she immediately straightened up when she realized it was Lizzie who was talking to her. 

“Josie said you should go home.” Lizzie rarely minced her words so that was as gentle as she could put it. 

There was no hiding the disappointment on Penelope’s face. This wasn’t just Josie forgetting about her. She actively didn’t want to see her. “I understand.” There wasn’t anything she could do about that. She just had to come back some other time. They needed to talk so it was eventually going to happen, but only when Josie was ready. For now, she just had to distract herself by other means. 

Lizzie watched as Penelope walked away. Was this what sympathy felt like? 

* * *

“I regret my decision,” Josie stated as she tried her best to block out the sunlight from her eyes. The doctors thought it would be good for her to get some fresh air and she had agreed. But now that she was outside and forced to sit on a not-very-comfortable wheelchair, it seemed like a much less enjoyable experience. She wished she could at least get up and walk around but she hadn’t even started rehabilitation. She could barely stand let alone walk. 

“Well, too bad. We’re staying out here,” Lizzie stated, taking a seat on the bench next to Josie’s chair. She had found a relatively shaded area so it wasn’t too bad. “Nature will be good for you.”

“Since when?” Josie demanded. If there was one thing that both of them could agree on it was that nature sucked. Camping trips were always the worst and the moment they were old enough to refuse their father’s invitations to do anything nature-y with him, he was never able to drag them out ever again.

“You’re the smart one. You figure it out.” Lizzie pulled out her phone and went through her usual time-killing social media habits. As much as they were both enjoying each other’s company, they had been spending hours alone with each other and even Lizzie wasn’t capable enough of talking that long. Especially when her life currently revolved around the person she was talking to. Josie had told Lizzie that she didn’t have to be around all the time but Lizzie would not be persuaded. Physically checking out wasn’t an option but she could mentally do so.

Josie sighed and relaxed into her chair. She really didn’t have much else to do than watch the world around her. Three whole months had passed yet it felt like no time had passed at all. She was in a dark room one moment and a bright hospital one the next. Her final memories before blacking out were blurry but Josie figured that would be a blessing. She didn’t want to relive her death in any way.

“Mom and dad are flying in tomorrow, right?” She had spoken to her parents via FaceTime to show them that she was okay but they insisted on flying over anyway. She didn’t see a point though. As soon as Josie was healthy enough to leave the hospital, she was going to leave the country. “Are you coming back to America with us?” she asked. 

Lizzie pursed her lips and shrugged. “I guess so.” 

“You don’t have to.” Josie knew that her sister had planned on staying in Hong Kong even after Josie herself had to go back at the end of the semester. “You know mom wouldn’t let me out of her sight. You have nothing to worry about.”

Lizzie suddenly took Josie’s hand, connecting their eyes. “You’re all I care about.” Nothing in the world mattered more than her sister and Lizzie wouldn’t find peace anywhere knowing that her sister wasn’t anything but completely healthy. 

Josie gave Lizzie’s hand a weak squeeze in return. “Thanks, Liz.”

“Just don’t go dying on me, okay?” Lizzie didn’t think she could possibly take another scare like this ever again. If she had to shove Josie into a bubble to keep her safe, she would do it. 

“I’ll try not to.” 

A small silence drifted between them. Lizzie returned to her phone and Josie returned to people watching. It wasn’t that exciting. Most of the patients around them were as energetic as Josie was, which is to say, three steps away from death. Being a med student, Josie should have been used to hospitals but it was completely different being a long-term patient compared to an actual doctor. She could finally see why people hated hospitals so much. With nothing to do, it just seemed dreadfully empty.

“Can we go back inside now?” Josie asked, figuring enough time had passed. She wanted nothing more than to be horizontal in bed. Sitting up was just uncomfortable and all the depressing people around them weren’t making this experience any better.

Lizzie nodded and got up so that she could push her sister back inside. After spending three months wandering the halls, she knew the hospital like the back of her hand. They had just made it to the hall Josie’s room was in when they both spotted someone sitting on one of the benches. Penelope seemed deep in thought as she stared at her phone, only breaking her still pose every few seconds to type something on it. 

When she heard a wheelchair approach, she looked up, her eyes widening when they met Josie’s. “Jojo…” 

“You really don’t have to come here anymore,” Josie stated. Knowing herself, it was only a matter of time before Josie would start to feel bad for making Penelope wait and she knew she didn’t deserve to feel bad. None of this was her fault. 

“It’s kind of part of my routine these days,” Penelope joked, though it had no force behind it. It was clear Penelope was being gentle with Josie.

“She’s not lying. I’ve been spending so much time with her that I’m beginning to think we are married,” Lizzie added, her face scrunching in disgust. 

Josie frowned and looked up at her sister. It was really a poor choice in words but Lizzie wasn’t known to have a great filter. Josie sighed. “Why are you here, Penelope? As you can see, I’m alive. You don’t have my blood on your hands.” 

Penelope scoffed. “That makes one person.” Her bloodied hands meant very little when she was currently neck-deep in blood. Penelope looked around and sighed. “Can we talk in your room?”

Josie stared at Penelope and considered it. She didn’t want to talk. Whatever Penelope had to say was going to trigger intense emotions in her and Josie wasn’t ready to face them. But seeing as Penelope was probably too stubborn to stop coming until they had a proper conversation, Josie saw little choice. “Fine.” 

Penelope followed the twins into the room and watched as Lizzie helped her sister back onto the bed. Josie may have been awake but she looked incredibly sickly. Penelope could see the struggle it took for Josie to do something as simple as fix the blanket around herself and the sight made Penelope’s heart clench with guilt. Just because Josie was alive didn’t mean that everything was good.

Lizzie looked between the two of them, her eyes rolling at how stubborn they both were. Penelope was looking at Josie like a kicked puppy and Josie was refusing to meet her eyes as if she weren’t there. “I’m going to leave you two walls to your paint drying.” She quickly left the room--she needed a coffee.

When Lizzie was gone, Penelope cautiously approached the bed. Josie could see her shadow approaching but still refused to look at her. She didn’t want to look nor did she want to talk. Talking would free her emotions and she was just fine being the wall her sister just described her as. 

“I’m sorry,” were the first words that left Penelope’s mouth. She had considered what she would say to Josie when she woke up but no amount of considering made this conversation easier. All her rational thoughts had slipped from her mind.

“What do you want me to say to that?” Josie asked, finally meeting Penelope’s eyes. While her words came out exasperated, Penelope could see the hurt that was in her eyes. Josie hadn’t been able to work any of this out. Part of her blamed Penelope and that part couldn’t forgive her yet, but the other half knew that she had no one to blame but herself. She knew the warning signs, Penelope never let her forget them, but Josie ignored them. Even if Penelope made it hard to resist, encouraged her almost, Josie was the one that made the final decision. 

“You don’t have to say anything,” Penelope replied. She got closer to the bed, needing a few seconds to really let the fact that Josie was awake sink in. Josie was pale and looked exactly like someone should if they had just come back to life, but it was undoubtedly Josie. 

She was okay.

“I should have known that you’d be a target. It was my mistake for not taking extra precautions.”

“We broke up, Penelope. It wasn’t your place to protect me even if you could.” As much as it hurt, they had said their goodbyes the day they came back from Macau. Penelope didn’t owe her anything. When Josie was being held captive, she desperately wished that Penelope would come, but hopelessness sank in and she realized that Penelope didn’t have a reason to. She wasn’t anything to her.

“Josie…” Hearing her say that sent an arrow right through her chest. They were broken up, Penelope knew that, but her feelings told her otherwise. Still, she had no right to any of this--Josie’s life wasn’t hers to interfere with. 

“If you really care about me, you’d stop doing this,” Josie demanded. “Seeing you… it hurts.” She turned away from Penelope and crawled deeper into the blankets. She felt weak and needed something to shield her from all of this. Penelope couldn’t keep messing with her like this. She couldn’t tell her not to fall in love with her one second and do everything that made Josie want to do so the next. She had accepted that Penelope didn’t care so she didn’t need this lingering hope. 

“I’m sorry that I’m selfish then. I can’t leave, not yet,” Penelope stated. Josie made no movement. “Because seeing you… I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.” Her words caused Josie to turn around, confusion in her eyes. Penelope leaned forward so that she could brush a few stray strands away from Josie’s face. “I thought I had lost you. Maybe I have…” She pulled her hand away, not wanting to overreach. “But as long as you’re alive and safe, I’m happy.” 

“That’s the most stupid example of being selfish ever,” Josie couldn’t help but retort, still confused but also mildly annoyed because Penelope was doing it again. She was tugging at her heartstrings and apparently it was for selfish reasons.

“I can be pretty dumb sometimes.” Penelope smiled. “Like that time I told you not to fall in love with me. That was stupid.” Josie’s eyes narrowed, waiting for an explanation. “I fell in love with you, Josie. I broke my own rules and it was selfish of me to expect you to uphold them.”

Josie’s eyes widened, not sure she heard correctly. “What?” 

Without hesitation, Penelope repeated, “I love you.” 

Josie bit her lip, not sure how to process that. How could she possibly process that? She had spent weeks convincing herself that Penelope didn’t care and now Penelope was telling her that? Where was this revelation when Josie actually needed it? Josie was slightly angry now. This wasn’t fair. Penelope couldn’t just say that. Not after everything. 

“Go away, Penelope,” Josie muttered. “You’re being an asshole and I hate you right now,” she whined. Josie glared at Penelope, but the pout on her lips told her that there was no real malice behind her words. Instead, Penelope was met by a weak pillow to her face. “You’re such a jerk.” 

Penelope quickly recovered from the attack and a small smirk twitched at the corner of her lips. “It’s not my fault you have horrible taste.” 

Clearly, Josie needed Penelope around to help with her rehabilitation because Josie’s next pillow smack was much stronger.    
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know some of you were probably expecting Penelope to explain why she couldn't save Josie but, at the end of the day, that wasn't the root of their problem. Penelope isn't some superhero that can fight against dozens of armed guards by herself. Whether Hope got in the way or not, it was irrelevant. Both of them knew that. Josie's insecurity didn't come from not being rescued. Instead, it came from the stuff before she was kidnapped; the imprisonment just made it sink in more deeply. 
> 
> On another note, I can see the end nearing!


	15. Moving Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before I start, I would like to take a moment to talk about something political. Seeing as this story is taking place in Hong Kong, I want to bring attention to what's happening in the state right now. The people of Hong Kong are currently protesting for their rights and facing high levels of police brutality. I encourage everyone to take a second to read about it and understand what's happening. I have a feeling China won't hold its hand back for very much longer.

After everything that had happened, both Penelope and Josie agreed that the right path forward was to take things slowly. Josie had a tough road ahead of her and she didn’t need the added stress of a relationship. If they would see each other, it would be light-hearted and drama-free. 

It worked for the first few weeks. Penelope would drop by every day for at least an hour to relieve Lizzie (who had finally agreed that she didn’t need to be sleeping in the hospital every day) and they would enjoy each other’s company. They stuck to non-personal topics, like Hong Kong politics and the eventual end of humanity. When it got personal, they only talked about their past and their interests. Absolutely no feeling (though that didn’t mean there weren’t any involved). 

“And that was the last time anyone except Hope and my mother dared to call me ‘Penny’,” Penelope explained, dramatic exasperation on her face. The sight made Josie smile and she let out a little giggle when Penelope recovered, a bright smile appearing on her own face. 

“I think it’s cute,” Josie shrugged and sipped on her straw, playing innocent. 

“Nuh-uh, you will not worm your way into calling me that,” Penelope warned. There was no real threat behind her words but she had to try, right? She still had a reputation to maintain and being called Penny was not the way to do it. 

Luckily, Josie wasn’t cruel enough to force a nickname on Penelope so she was just fine excluding that from her vocabulary. “That’s okay. I like your name as it is,” Josie replied. “It fits you.”

A knock on the door interrupted them. When the nurse appeared, Josie groaned. It was that time of the day again. The time when they would torture her by removing her from her bed and make her exert some effort into recovering. Josie wanted to be back on her feet as soon as possible, but it was immensely frustrating relearning little things that she should have already learned.

When Josie had first woken up, everything seemed fine. Her memory was intact, she could still speak, and it seemed like she had escaped the injury scot-free. However, they soon discovered that the oxygen deprivation impacted her brain. The weakness Josie was displaying wasn’t only her muscles having a hard time regaining their strength. Her ability to do things—her motor skills—were a bit off. Sometimes her muscles wouldn’t respond in the way she wanted them to and she felt like a useless toddler not being able to do something as simple as holding a spoon. 

“Come on, I know you hate it but you need to go,” Penelope encouraged. She hated seeing how upset Josie got and couldn’t help but blame herself for the pain she was facing. That was why she was determined to be here and help her in any way that she could.

“You really don’t need to join us, don’t you have more important things to do?” The physical therapy stuff often felt like a complete waste of time because of how slow the process of recovery was so she hated making Penelope wait around. Part of her also hated Penelope seeing her so weak, but she could never hide her vulnerabilities from Penelope—Penelope reassured her the moment she even mentioned it being embarrassing.

“Not really. The protests have been disrupting everything. A bunch of my people are protesting and I’ve given them all the time they need.” Penelope was pissed off by the legislation too, but she couldn’t take part considering her reputation. The last thing that those peaceful protestors needed was the head of a triad to define their movement. The Chinese government was one excuse away from sending in tanks and Penelope would not give them one. 

“I wish I was out there. A lot of my classmates are,” Josie said as they wheeled her to the room.

“Oh no, white girl. You stick your pasty wide-eyed face out of it. The last thing we need is your moldy orange to have an excuse to start a nuclear war,” Penelope replied, leaning over Josie and giving her nose a little poke. 

Josie laughed, but they all knew just how concerning Penelope’s words were. 

“Have you considered leaving?” Josie asked, unable to help herself. Ever since Penelope’s confession, the gates she put around her heart had opened and her feelings for Penelope had once again grown. They were fine right now but what would happen once she got out of the hospital? She didn’t even know if she would stay in Hong Kong. 

“I have…” Penelope sighed. “But I can’t.” She knew she couldn’t escape her past. Not only would it catch up to her, she would probably help it along. Penelope was too restless to be idle and powerless. This was who she was. “Even if I leave, the last place I’d want to go is America. There are gun-touting nazis there,” Penelope added, hoping to lighten the mood. 

Josie hummed, continuing the conversation as she started the process. “You’re right. How about Australia?”

“I don’t understand the language.” Because there was no way they spoke English.

“The United Kingdom?”

“Are you kidding? They are so racist that they are crashing their economy to keep immigrants out. What happened to the good old days when they would import people of colour?”

“They can’t cage them and put them on display anymore so they probably lost interest. South Africa?”

“Too warm.”

“Canada?”

“Too cold.”

Josie laughed and rolled her eyes. “You are impossible to please.”

“You love that about me,” Penelope retorted, her cocky smile in place.

Josie blushed and looked away. “Are you seriously making jokes like that in front of my therapist?”

Penelope innocently looked over at the therapist. “ _Auntie, do you care?_ ”

“ _Care about what?_ ” The woman replied, fairly confused. After silence met her, she sighed, “ _Aiyah! You and your friend are so weird._ ”

Penelope gave Josie a cheeky smile. “See? She loves our _friendship_.” Penelope was fairly certain they could kiss in front of her and she would believe it was some weird white person thing for friends to kiss. Denial was truly a powerful thing.

Penelope watched as Josie went through the routine. Josie was determined and tried her best, but Penelope knew it was a painful process. Josie was struggling and when Josie fell, Penelope immediately rushed towards her. She wanted to help her stand, but Josie pushed away her offered hands. “Jojo…”

“I’m fine!” Josie insisted. She was breathing hard and her hands were shaking, but she was stubborn. “I just need a small break.”

Penelope wasn’t convinced. A bout of guilt hit her and her eyes adverted to the ground, ashamed at what she had done to Josie. Still, she didn’t let her guilt show for long. Josie had a habit of attempting to make others feel better before herself and this was not a time for that. Penelope couldn’t be selfish and give Josie the extra labour of carrying Penelope’s guilt. Instead, she backed away and allowed Josie the time she needed to breathe. 

Penelope considered her options. There had to be a way to make Josie more comfortable. There wasn’t anything that could be done about the recovery process, but maybe something could be done about the environment? Anywhere had to be better than here. “I’ll be right back.”

“What?” Penelope was out of the room before Josie could really even compute what she had said. Had she hurt Penelope’s feelings? Pushing her away was instinctual and Josie didn’t mean to hurt Penelope. It was just upsetting that Penelope had to see her like that. She was nowhere near the confident woman Penelope had met before all of this happened and it was embarrassing for Penelope to keep witnessing her failures. Even if Penelope had tried to reassure her, part of her would always worry about what others thought. Penelope’s opinion of her was especially important. 

Josie couldn’t stop thinking about what she had done the entire time Penelope was away. By the time Penelope had returned, the therapist had called it a day and was just about to return Josie to her room. There was no point in continuing when her heart was no longer in it. “Where did you go?” Josie asked. 

“I was talking to the doctors.” She could see that something was wrong with Josie and she furrowed her brows. She looked at the therapist. “ _M goi, a-yi._ ” The woman nodded and left Josie to Penelope. “You technically don’t have to stay here,” Penelope explained as she pushed Josie back to her room. Josie nodded, they both knew that but it was just more convenient to stay here, especially when wheel-chair accessibility wasn’t a huge thing in Hong Kong architecture. “Why don’t you stay with me?”

Josie’s eyes widened, though Penelope couldn’t see it. Stay with Penelope? She hadn’t even seen her house before, and Penelope was offering to practically live together? The offer was unexpected and Josie wasn’t sure how to receive it. She was curious and knew that this was a sign of Penelope’s willingness to open up to her, but they still had many unresolved issues that they had been avoiding. Now didn’t seem like a good time. “Are you sure…?” She knew that it was for medical reasons, but it still felt like a big step. 

“I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t sure.” It wasn’t a big deal to Penelope. They had plenty of room and the added comfort might help Josie heal quicker. She was confident her mom and Auntie wouldn’t mind. In fact, they would love to have a hostage that couldn’t leave them. Hope and Penelope were always so busy that they constantly cried that they were being abandoned (after all the hard work they put into raising them). 

Josie pursed her lips, still not sure if she should accept. She wanted a change in view and anywhere was better than a hospital, but she also didn’t want to mess up something good. Her and Penelope were good right now. There was also someone else she needed to consider. “What about Lizzie?” Her sister would be pissed if she abandoned her, even if she knew that it wasn’t purposeful and was for the sake of her recovery.

Penelope sighed. The Saltzman twins were a packaged deal, especially after a near-death experience. Lizzie was around just as much as Penelope. Penelope figured she couldn’t just ignore Josie’s sister. Lizzie would demand to see her sister every day and would be around all the time whether or not she was living there; it would save them all a lot of drama if they invited Lizzie. “She can stay with us too. I have another room she could take.” Fortunately, for all their jealous hostility, they both had one thing in common and it was Josie’s well-being. Penelope could tolerate anything to ensure that.

Josie balked. “Just how large is your place?” People in Hong Kong could barely afford to have a room to themselves and Penelope had some spare ones just sitting around?

“Why does that matter?” Penelope asked as she helped Josie back into her bed. 

Josie shook her head. “It doesn’t.” Penelope was right. She was changing the subject away from the large decision Penelope had presented her with. Seeing that Penelope wasn’t accepting her excuses and was willing to go as far as to invite Josie and her sister to stay with them, Josie couldn’t refuse. It was a huge gesture and Josie couldn’t deny that she wanted it. Just breathing in the sickeningly clean hospital smell was enough to remind her how desperately she needed a change in scenery. Josie hated the hospital so much right now that she even considered a career change. “Okay, but only until I recover and can walk properly again. This isn’t permanent,” Josie insisted. That was a whole other conversation that would be had much later into their… whatever this was. 

Penelope smirked. “Great, I’ll get the u-haul ready.” 

This time, Penelope could successfully dodge the pillow that Josie threw at her head. “I’m being serious!” Josie whined. 

Penelope laughed. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it. I swear to you I understand that it’s only temporary and I would never pressure you to do anything you didn’t want to.” This was all about comfort. Penelope had no ulterior motives than that (at least consciously).

“Lizzie will freak,” Josie groaned, imagining how her sister will react when she explained what would happen. Josie needed to prepare herself for a lecture.

“Is that different from any other day?” Penelope teased. “Don’t worry. Once she sees the pool and view from our balcony, I’m sure she will be just fine.”

Josie rolled her eyes. “Now you’re just showing off.” 

“Why would I need to show off? I’ve impressed you enough with my skills, haven’t I?” Penelope winked. Her joke caused Josie to smile and Penelope couldn’t avoid smiling in return.

“It’s definitely not your personality,” Josie retorted, crossing her arms as if it were obvious. 

“Hey!” 

“Hurts to know you’re just being used, doesn’t it?” Josie teased, not falling for Penelope’s attempt to make her blush this time. Nope, it was Josie’s time to get a reaction out of Penelope.

Penelope loved every second of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> M goi, a-yi - Thank you, auntie.
> 
> I'm sorry this took so long! I'll probably be busy for the next while so updates may come slower, but if you ever have any questions or want to give me a nudge, you can reach me at my Tumblr: sheraofpower.
> 
> As always, thank you for your support!


	16. Choices

“How are you, Ms. Saltzman?” 

Josie looked up from her book when she realized the person that had entered her room was not one of the women that usually did. “Kwan-Sir?” The man stood there, a kind smile on his face. Josie remembered him from the police interview she had had a while back. She heard he wanted to talk to her but willingly waited until she felt better.

Even though she recognized exactly what he wanted to use her for, she had to at least appreciate he wasn’t being an ass about it. 

“How are you, Ms. Saltzman?” he repeated, taking a seat on Penelope’s chair. The image was kind of uncomfortable. 

“You can just call me Josie. I’m feeling better.” Though she supposed anything was better than initially waking up from a three month coma. 

“That’s good.” He pulled out his notebook, readying himself for the interview. “I’m sure you know why I’m here. You haven’t been a good girl, Josie. I told you to stay away from her,” he chastised, though his smile never left his lips. He completely expected it. 

“She wasn’t the one who kidnapped me, Kwan-Sir,” Josie stated, not appreciating his patronizing tone. It was common and accepted for older Chinese men to behave like that, so she shouldn’t have been offended, but she didn’t like him talking about Penelope as if she caused of everything

“Of course not, though she has been making quite a mess lately.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a few files. Josie narrowed her eyes at him, wondering what his intentions were. “I warn you, these next pictures can be a bit graphic.” It wasn’t much of a warning because he immediately showed her them afterwards. 

Josie gasped as she took in the carnage in the photos, blood and dead bodies splattered everywhere in the seemingly innocent boardroom. “She’s not a good person, Josie,” he stated, noticing the images getting to her. The girl had to have a good heart. She wanted to be a paediatrician. How could someone who wanted to help children accept such needless death?

Josie looked away, her hands clenched on the sheets around her. She was angry at him for showing her the photographs. In the back of her mind, she understood that Penelope’s actions were horrible, but she didn’t want to think of it. He made it so much more real. 

She also recognized Penelope’s actions were because of her. Josie didn’t need it—she hated the group that had hurt her—but she didn’t need revenge. Not Penelope’s type of revenge. 

Penelope’s actions were motivated by her own bloodlust. 

“ _Kwan-Sir, you really shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions,_ ” a cold voice suddenly interrupted. It sent chills right down Josie’s spine. 

Penelope stood at the doorway, her normally green eyes almost black as she glared at the officer. Her fists clenched in anger. It was one thing for them to bother her, it was another for them to bother Josie. She looked over at Josie. She refused to look at her and pieces of her melted heart started growing back stronger—hardening. 

“ _Three things cannot long be hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth,_ ” Kwan-Sir replied, shaking his head and getting up. “ _You’ve been getting sloppy, Zi-Cing._ ” Penelope was usually smart enough to get rid of the bodies, which made it hard to prove the people she killed were even dead, but this time she purposely left a mess at every scene. It served as a warning to everyone else. Unfortunately for her, the police also got the message.

“ _I don’t know what you’re talking about,_ ” Penelope shrugged, feigning innocence. The shadows behind her eyes hadn’t disappeared though—she refused to back down. 

Kwan-Sir sighed and took one last glance at Josie. “You should leave Hong Kong. It’s not safe here for you.” With those last words, he left, leaving an angered Penelope and sunken Josie behind. 

Penelope rushed to Josie’s side and took her hand, but Josie instinctively yanked it away. “Jojo…” All the tension had melted away from her face, leaving nothing but the trademarked softness she only reserved for Josie. 

“Sorry…” Josie reached for Penelope’s hand, grasping one in both of hers. The calluses were the scars of all the people she hurt and it felt different holding her hand right now. Josie couldn’t help but flinch at it at first. 

“Are you scared of me now?” Penelope wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer. Josie still wasn’t meeting her eyes, instead, she continued to play with her hand, rubbing it as if she were deep in thought. 

“No. I realize you’d never hurt me,” Josie replied. She was confident that: Penelope would never hurt her. But whether Josie would accept Penelope hurting other people... Death the antithesis of what she strived for in life. She wanted to help people. Penelope actively ruined and ended other’s. 

“But…” Penelope continued, knowing there had to be one to come. Josie still refused to look at her. 

“I just need time to let it sink in,” Josie explained. She couldn’t just accept it as if Penelope had simply asked her on a date. Penelope was asking her to accept the killer that lived in her—death would always encircle her life. Josie wanted to deny it, but the more important Penelope became in her life, the more she needed to acknowledge it. 

Penelope nodded, choosing to focus on anything other than her heart breaking every second Josie refused to look at her. This wasn’t how she imagined Josie coming home with her would be like. “Do you need me to leave you alone?”

Josie finally looked up, meeting Penelope’s eyes for the first time since she had arrived. “No.” She watched as the worry melted away from Penelope’s face, a smile gracing it when she realized Josie wasn’t upset. “I want to leave with you.” While the truth hadn’t fully settled in, there was one thing she appreciated above all else. “I love you, Penelope.” And she would accept anything that came with loving her. 

“I love you too.” The words came easy to Penelope. They always would.

“Are you sure your family won’t mind the intrusion?” Josie asked.

Penelope sighed. “Unfortunately, I think the hardest part would be getting my mother to let you leave once you’re there.”

“Wasn’t she the one who stopped you from saving me?” Josie asked, wondering why it seemed like Penelope’s mother would be overly affectionate towards her.

“Only because she didn’t want me getting hurt. Once everything was done and over with, she had practically given me her—“ Penelope suddenly stopped. “Don’t worry about her. She’ll welcome you with open arms.” 

“Okay…” Penelope was acting rather suspicious but Josie was leaving the hospital so she was quite willing to walk into anything else. 

* * *

Penelope watched as the full dinner table conversed before her. She didn’t believe she had ever seen the dinner table so full for so many consecutive days before. Josie and Lizzie fit right in and the older women in the household happily accepted the twins. They made the house livelier and less lonely.

Sophia, for one, was ecstatic Penelope had brought a girl home for her to meet. Penelope had flings, but had never been with someone serious enough to get her over-zealous mother involved. As far as Sophia was concerned, Josie would be her daughter-in-law. And she wanted to be a doctor too. What yellow-washed parent wouldn’t be proud of her career choice? 

“Have you renewed your visa yet, Jo?” Lizzie asked, causing the entire table to turn silent.

Josie bit her lip, noticing all eyes on her. Her visa would expire soon if she didn’t renew it, but she hadn’t really decided whether she wanted to stay in Hong Kong. Lizzie had work, but Josie didn’t have a real reason to stay in Hong Kong. “I haven’t.” 

Penelope frowned, unable to keep her disappointment in. She had completely forgotten Josie would have to leave eventually. “Will you?” 

Josie averted her eyes away from everyone else’s. “I can’t.” 

The silence which followed was deafening.

“With what happened, I didn’t finish my semester.” She needed to go back to America to finish her degree. Hong Kong was only ever supposed to be a few months. It was an exchange which she technically failed and had to make up for. 

“Didn’t spending months in a hospital count?” Lizzie complained. Her sister needed a long vacation after what had happened, yet she was just worrying about going back to school?

Josie didn’t need to grace Lizzie with a response. “I can’t just illegally stay in the country and freeload off of you, Lizzie.” 

“I’m sure they have plenty of men who would be willing to marry you so you can immigrate,” Lizzie dismissed, believing the immigration part wasn’t going to be difficult.

Penelope’s frown deepened at the suggestion of Josie marrying someone else. 

“Actually, same-sex couples who get married outside of Hong Kong in a jurisdiction which recognizes it can sponsor their spouse,” Hope stated, fairly worried Penelope would explode if they continued in the direction Lizzie went. 

“Oh, really?” A little cocky smirk made its way onto Lizzie’s face. “I wonder why you know that.”

Hope rolled her eyes at Lizzie’s jab. “I was trying to figure out ways to get rid of you.”

“Sorry, babe, I’m staying right where I am.” 

“So you’re leaving?” Penelope asked Josie, annoyed at the blatant foreplay happening in front of her possible breakup. 

“I guess I am… after I’ve recovered enough,” Josie replied, not meeting Penelope’s eyes. Her food seemingly the most interesting thing to her right now. 

Penelope didn’t reply and the rest of the dinner flew by in complete silence. 

Josie had intended to talk to Penelope privately after dinner but she had disappeared into her room before Josie could say a thing and with her limited mobility, Josie was in no position to follow. 

It didn’t mean they couldn’t talk, however.

 **Josie:** What are you wearing? ;)  
**Penelope:** The same thing I was five minutes ago.  
**Josie:** I thought you enjoyed being naked in bed.  
**Penelope:** I didn’t want to you to think you were missing out.  
**Josie:** I’m always missing out when you’re not with me.  
**Penelope:** You are so cheesy.  
**Josie:** I’m also lonely.  
**Penelope:** … I’ll be right down.

Josie grinned, knowing she at least cheered Penelope up enough to warrant a conversation. Admittedly, if it weren’t for Lizzie, Josie probably would have discussed none of this with Penelope until the last minute. She didn’t want to randomly spring it on her before she could make a case, Josie just didn’t want to think about it. 

Penelope closed the door behind her when she entered the room and sat herself on the bed beside Josie. “Do you still expect me to be naked? Because my mom is out there and I don’t believe you could resist me if I was,” Penelope teased.

Josie pretended to ponder it for a few seconds, her eyes towards the sky as she tapped her chin. “How about half?” she negotiated.

“What do I get out of it?” Penelope challenged.

“The satisfaction of knowing your girlfriend thinks you’re hot?”

Penelope shrugged before relaxing into the bed, not making a single move to undress. “I already know that.”

Josie grinned and snuggled herself against Penelope, just happy to have her near.

After a few moments of silence, Josie spoke. “I’ll come back, you know.”

“Hm?” Penelope shifted a little and met Josie’s eyes. 

“After I graduate. If you still want me, I’ll come back,” Josie repeated. Despite all the challenges of their relationship, one thing remained the same: they loved each other. Josie would make Hong Kong her home as long as Penelope lived here. It would have been silly for her to give up all the hard work she had put into her schooling and toss her future career away, but moving to another country didn’t seem half-bad. “It’ll only be a few months,” Josie promised.

“I waited three months for you to wake up, knowing the chances of that happening were slim, and my love for you didn’t fade one bit. I’m sure I can survive a few months,” Penelope stated, pressing a kiss to Josie’s forehead. “But there’s also the option of me joining you.”

Josie shook her head. “First, you distract me by simply being in the room. I could never study with you around. Second, your life is more rooted in Hong Kong than mine is in America and if you went with me, I might change my mind and selfishly ask you to stay with me.” 

Penelope nodded. She didn’t like that this was a sacrifice on Josie’s end, but Penelope knew that living in America was not an option. People depended on her and she couldn’t abandon everything her father had built. “Thank you.”

“You have so much more to lose than I do,” Josie matter-of-factly stated. 

“I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” Penelope reached for Josie’s hand and intertwined their fingers together. 

Josie smiled. “I’m going to hold you to that.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so long!
> 
> My wife and I are relocating from one city to another right now and I started a new job that's taking up all my brainpower and energy. I'm either running around the courthouse or I'm in my office reading and writing legal papers. 
> 
> Luckily, this fic is almost done :D
> 
> Thank you for your patience!


	17. Parting is such sweet sorrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had time while I was waiting for my client at the courthouse. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy!

“I miss you.” 

“I miss you too.” 

Once Josie sat down at her desk, Penelope asked, “Are you ready for class?” 

“I think so. I have to head out soon,” Josie replied, rummaging through her bag as Penelope watched her through a screen.

“Anything exciting today?” 

“Not really.” Josie stopped and looked up. “Just another day until I can get back to you.”

Penelope’s smile was delayed through the screen but Josie didn’t need to see it to know it was there. 

“I don’t want to keep you. I love you and have a good class.”

Josie gave Penelope an air kiss, “I love you too. Good night!” She shut the laptop and added it to her bag. Before she left her apartment, she glanced briefly at the calendar. Just a few more weeks until winter break and she could go visit Penelope.

* * *

“Josie, you can’t spend all day in bed,” Penelope teased, peppering kisses against Josie’s forehead.

“Jet-lagged,” she mumbled in response, snuggling deeper into the blanket. Penelope rolled her eyes and left the bed. The time difference between them was grueling and despite Josie being off for Christmas break, they had to factor in time for her travel and to adjust to the time difference. It wasn’t easy on Josie and Penelope had offered to come, but Josie insisted that she needed to see Lizzie anyway. 

Penelope went downstairs to greet the rest of their household. “Are you sure you two are twins?” Penelope asked, joining Lizzie in the kitchen.

“Unless our parents have been lying to us our entire lives, yes.” At this point, Lizzie had pretty much moved in. She never left after Josie left and, with Penelope’s mother’s approval, officially moved in. Considering how big her house was, it wasn’t an inconvenience and the suite she shared with Hope was bigger than their entire previous apartment. Hope seemed to be enjoying her nights also. 

Only a few months ago, Penelope and Hope would have been enjoying them together—but now all Penelope wanted was to be with Josie and, frankly, that was perfect for everyone involved.

“You two are nothing alike,” Penelope commented. Lizzie was always up bright and early full of energy, while Josie was often dead until after noon if nothing forced her up.

“Fraternal, obvs.” Lizzie took one last bite of her toast before grabbing her bag and heading off to work. 

Penelope sighed and began working on breakfast. Usually, her nanny would do it for the entire household but when Josie was around, she left it to Penelope. There was no point making Josie’s breakfast when it would get cold by the time Josie got up. Besides, Penelope kind of liked the domestic gift of being able to greet her girlfriend with breakfast. No one would say Penelope wasn’t a fantastic girlfriend and more than willing to make up for forcing Josie to travel to see her.

By the time Penelope finished, Josie still wasn’t up so she carried the food to the bedroom, hoping the smell of coffee would at least convince her girlfriend to open her eyes. They had months to make up for and Penelope wasn’t going to let Josie sleep it away. 

If Josie wanted to stay in bed, it was going to be with Penelope between her legs. 

* * *

“I’m beginning to really hate airports,” Josie complained, not willing to leave Penelope behind. The week flew by and now they were in for another few months of separation. 

“We can skip this entire process and you can fly privately,” Penelope suggested.

“That’s not what I meant…”

“I know,” Penelope teased with a roll of her eyes. If there was one thing Penelope had learned about Josie was that she didn’t care for frevalous spending. While Hope was showering Lizzie with whatever she wanted, Penelope had to practically beg Josie to do something as simple as paying for her plane tickets.

“Are you sure I can’t come with you? It’s not fair that I have to spend more time with Lizzie than anyone should,” Penelope whined, giving Josie a little pout. 

“That’s Hope’s fault, not mine,” Josie retorted, giving Penelope’s pouty lips a little kiss. 

“You know, one day you might lose me to them. They aren’t exactly quiet and always sound like they are having a blast. I once caught them in the pool and I could have totally jumped in,” Penelope playfully threatened. 

Josie raised a brow before leaning into Penelope’s ear. “You’re _mine_ ,” she whispered. 

Josie’s possessiveness and Penelope’s natural ear sensitivity sent Josie’s actions right down Penelope’s body, causing her to groan. “That’s not fair.” 

“That’s punishment for even considering it.” 

“I thought I was the dominant one here.”

Josie gave Penelope a little wink. “That’s what all subs let you doms think.” 

Penelope grinned and pulled Josie in for a kiss. They stayed there for a few seconds, not caring that they were grabbing people’s attention. Penelope never had anything to fear and her fearlessness empowered Josie’s. “As long as I get to kiss you at will, I’m happy,” Penelope declared as she pulled away. 

She took Josie’s hand and reluctantly led her towards security. They had delayed enough. 

“I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss your too.” 

With one last kiss, Josie departed and Penelope could do nothing but watch her walk away.

Four months. That’s all that was left. 

* * *

“You are less creeped out by dead bodies than I thought you would be,” Penelope commented, amused at Josie’s idea of a nightly story. 

“Bodies are just bodies, right? Maybe I have the makings of a pathologist?” Josie mused. 

“Please don’t. We’d be on opposite sides of the law and as much as I support you and your dreams, I feel like you won’t be able to handle the conflict of interest,” Penelope joked. She couldn’t even imagine what kind of stupid things she would be tempted to do just so Josie had to deal with her mess at work.

“Well, if you do your job right, I won’t ever encounter a conflict of interest.”

“Touché.” 

After a brief pause, Josie asked, “How are things in Hong Kong?” 

“Same old. The police are getting the flack they finally deserve after all of this brutality crap. At least I don’t claim to be the good guy.”

“This China takeover thing is making me reconsider moving in with you.”

Penelope sighed. Things were changing and change gave her a headache. “I wouldn’t blame you… if you lived in Canada or Switzerland, but are you really in the position to judge Hong Kong politics with what’s happening in the US?” 

“Touché.” 

“I should probably let you go. It’s almost midnight. Don’t you have a class tomorrow morning?” It wasn’t really a question. At this point, Penelope had Josie’s school schedule memorized. There wasn’t a single day they didn’t have to work around it. 

“Why are you always so responsible?” Josie whined, not wanting to log off yet. Her and Penelope had barely gotten to talk since she had been so busy lately. She didn’t know when she would be free for another chat after this. 

“I’m giving up being with you all these months for that degree so you better get it.”

Josie sighed before straightening up and giving Penelope a salute, “Yes, ma’am!” 

“I don’t accept that Americanized salute, you need to bow,” Penelope teased, her brow raised in amusement. 

“So no cop-oriented roleplays, huh?”

Penelope’s face immediately twisted into a mix of horror and disgust. “God, no.”

With that, they left the video chat laughing and wishing each other their respective times of day. 

* * *

“Congratulations, honey!” Caroline practically squealed as she pulled her daughter into a tight hug. After many, many long years, Josie had finally accomplished her dreams and both of her parents were ecstatic. 

“Careful, mom. You don’t want to kill her right after she made it this far,” Lizzie warned, giving Josie her much needed breather. Who ever said she was a bad sister? 

“There are a hundred newly minted doctors around us, I’m sure one of them is competent enough,” Caroline argued, a glint of playfulness in her eyes. 

“I still would rather avoid suffocating…”

Caroline gasped and immediately pulled away. “I’m sorry, sweetie! Did I trigger you?”

Josie waved her hands. “No! It was just a joke. Don’t worry about me.”

Caroline held a hand to her heart, as if she had almost gotten a heart attack from the worry. “Are you sure you want to go back to Hong Kong. I know Lizzie loves it there but are you really going to leave your poor mother and father behind?” Caroline pointed at Alaric, “Look at him! He’s grown a moustache and beard at the thought of losing you. How am I supposed to help him find a girlfriend like that?”

Alaric narrowed his eyes. “Hey! It’s not that bad.” He started rubbing at his beard, fairly offended because he believed it made him look more mature. 

“You have a chiseled face, dad, you need to show it off,” Lizzie added, nodding in agreement with her mom. It really has gone downhill since she had left. Lizzie seriously considered staying behind to straighten him up a bit. He was going to be much more lonely without her and her sister around. 

“Leave my beard alone and focus on your sister. She’s supposed to be the centre of attention today,” Alaric redirected. These women never failed to hurt his self-esteem. Jo would have never put him through this torture. Alaric’s eyes went towards Josie and he teared up a bit. She was just like her mother, right down to her career choice. “Jo would have been proud of you, Josie,” he stated, pulling her into a hug. 

“Thanks, dad.” She squeezed him tightly, knowing that he must have been feeling sad to think of their biological mom. 

“Do I get a hug as well?” 

Josie’s eyes widened and she immediately pulled away from her dad, happily running into Penelope’s arms. 

Alaric observed with a frown on his face. That damned girl is literally stealing his baby away from him. Nothing would hide the glare in Alarica eyes—but no one really cared to notice. 

“You came!” Josie pressed their lips together. 

“Save it for the bedroom,” Lizzie commented, pretending to be disgusted. 

“I’ve gone through months walking in on you and Hope everywhere. Shut up, Lizard,” Penelope retorted. If her girlfriend wanted to kiss her, she could do it anywhere she damned pleased. 

Poor Alaric was about to faint as the two continued to bicker about not very father-safe things to listen to. Before he fainted, Caroline gently grabbed his arm and pulled him away from them, sympathizing with his old heart. They needed to find a seat anyway. 

Josie just listened as the two of them argued, just happy to see them get along. It may be an argument, but it was a playful one… even if it did seem incredibly aggressive to everyone else. The glares they were shooting each other made Josie wonder how Penelope’s house survived them and Hope under one roof. 

They only stopped when the announcer told them it was time for the graduates to get ready. They gave Josie their last hugs before heading off to join the twin’s parents. 

The ceremony was boring until individual students crossed the stage and there was no group louder than the one supporting Josette Saltzman. 

* * *

Josie sighed as she stared at the bright city from the balcony of her and Penelope’s hotel room. Tonight was her last night in New York and she had to admit that she would miss it. Hong Kong was just as beautiful but this city had been hers and Lizzie’s home for a while. She had plenty of memories here. 

“We can always come back and visit,” Penelope started, hugging her from behind. She didn’t miss the sad look in Josie’s eyes. She understood it was just a regular attachment to the city that had been her home, but she still felt bad tearing her away. 

“I know. It’s just kind of weird moving on,” Josie replied, turning around to hold Penelope in her arms. 

“Then why don’t we make the next step extra exciting?” Penelope stated, almost a hint of nervousness in her voice. 

Josie raised her brow, wondering what was throwing Penelope off. 

When she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small velvet box, it hit Josie immediately. Time seemingly slowed as Josie watched Penelope raise the box. It snapped open and inside was a gorgeous white gold ring in the shape of a Phoenix, diamonds embedded in its design. 

“In Chinese culture, the dragon and the phoenix represent the perfect heaven-blessed couple. Both are divine creatures that symbolize the harmony between yin and yang,” Penelope explained. “They match each other in every way, including their chosen element: fire.” Penelope gave Josie a teasing nudge, remembering all the pyromaniac stories Josie had shared with her. 

“I love you, Josie, and I can’t imagine spending my life with anyone else. These few months have only shown me how strong we can be and I believe that nothing will ever be able to tear us apart. I’ve trusted you with my life from the moment we met. You’re the person I respect most in this world and I want you by my side, as my partner, for the rest of my life.”

Penelope smiled, wiping tears as they fell from Josie’s face. “ _Doctor_ Josette Saltzman,” Penelope started, that cocky smirk that Josie loved on her lips, “will you marry me?” 

There was really no other answer but, “Yes.” 


	18. Full Circle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any errors, I wrote this months ago and really didn't feel like editing my own smut. 
> 
> That being said, WARNING: SMUT BELOW! NSFW.

Settling into a routine wasn’t hard after they had moved in together. While it wasn’t the life that Josie had planned for herself, she wasn’t at all disappointed by how it had turned out. She smiled when she found Penelope on their bed, leaning against the headboard and working on her tablet. Ever since they had moved in with each other, Penelope made it a priority to spend as much time at home with her as possible. Luckily, not many tasks required Penelope to personally see to so it felt like she was practically not working at all. At this point, it was clear that Penelope did it more out of duty than necessity. At the ripe old age of thirty, retirement was just around the corner for her. 

After everything that she had learned, Penelope had had enough.

“What are you working on?” Josie asked, pulling off her sweater and getting changed out of her day clothes. 

“Looking over the accountant’s numbers,” Penelope replied, not looking away from the screen. Her brows were furrowed in concentration and Josie could see that something wasn’t quite making sense to her girlfriend. 

“Anything I can help you with?” Josie offered, trying to peek at the screen.

“No. It’s super boring stuff. You’ve had a long day.” Penelope finally looked up from her tablet and took Josie’s hand as she before she could walk away. She tugged a little for Josie to lean down and they both gave each other a quick kiss. It was domestic and they loved every second of it. 

“It wasn’t that bad.”

Penelope rolled her eyes. “I don’t believe you for one second.” There was no way Josie wasn’t utterly annoyed dealing with grown-ass men who couldn’t do something as simple as obeying basic doctor instructions. She knew how stubborn they were--they were her men after all.

Josie giggled and shrugged. “I used to work with kids. They are just like kids. You just have to convince them that everything is their idea.”

Penelope raised a brow, very amused. Josie’s way of dealing with them was much more modest than her own. “I tend to make sure they know that everything is _my_ idea.” Enforcement was much more of a priority than nurturing their egos. “You can just boss them around, you know? Who are they going to complain to? Me?” Penelope finally put the tablet on her nightstand and pulled Josie down onto the bed with her. Josie happily obliged, straddling herself over Penelope’s lap. “They wouldn’t dare,” Penelope teased, scrunching her face up in the utterly adorable way Josie loved.

“I don’t know. I hear your punishments can be quite cruel,” Josie mused, pretending to ponder over it. 

“You would know.” Penelope smirked and pulled Josie down for a deeper kiss. Josie responded in kind and gently maneuvered them downwards so that Penelope was properly lying on the bed as Josie hovered over top of her. Josie deepened the kiss, happily moaning into it and making Penelope shiver at just the thought of where this was going. It was enough to send jolts right down her body and she was thoroughly enjoying Josie’s forwardness as she forced Penelope’s legs apart with her own while pinning her hands over her head.

So caught up in the kiss (and the way Josie was teasingly rubbing her thigh against Penelope’s centre) that she didn’t notice the small _click_ that sounded beside her. It wasn’t until she felt the press of cold metal against her wrist did she notice the next _click_. Penelope immediately pulled away and looked up, realizing that Josie had managed to cuff one of her wrists without her noticing it until it was too late. Penelope rolled her eyes. “So the student learns from the master,” Penelope mused, equal parts amused and impressed that Josie had used the same trick she had so often used on Josie herself. “Is this your way of telling me that you want something?” Penelope innocently asked, more than happy to entertain Josie’s thoughts.

“Mhmm,” Josie hummed. She grabbed Penelope’s other hand and while Penelope was expecting Josie to release her so that they could switch places, Josie didn’t. Instead, she forcefully took Penelope’s other hand and cuffed it to the bed as well. This caused Penelope’s eyes to widen when she realized that this wasn’t at all a silly trick from Josie. Josie giggled and bit her bottom lip. “I want you…” she leaned forward so that she could nibble Penelope’s ears, “to suffer.” The darkness in Josie’s tone caused Penelope to shiver, barely able to control the whimper that threatened to escape her. She had a reputation to maintain and whimpering was not at all a badass thing to do.

When Josie pulled away, Penelope was met with Josie’s disturbingly cute grin. How could this girl go from making Penelope want to whimper one second to wanting to kiss her silly the next? Josie was truly an enigma Penelope was determined to solve. “Anything you wish to say, Ms. Park? Careful, anything you say can and will be used against you.” Josie softened, letting Penelope know that this was her chance to opt-out of whatever Josie had in mind.

Penelope merely shrugged, an annoyingly smug look plastered on her face. She didn’t think Josie could pull it off. Penelope was confident that her girlfriend would end up bursting into laughter and the entire mood would be ruined and replaced with sweet, loving, dorky sex instead. “You don’t scare me, Jojo,” Penelope challenged.

Josie grinned. “I knew you would say that.” Game on.

Immediately, Josie leaned down and began to pepper small kisses along Penelope’s jawline, doing her best to avoid Penelope’s attempts to making her kiss her on the lips instead. Penelope was enjoying this. She had no intention of making it easy for Josie. Josie couldn’t expect to do this without her fighting back. It was in Penelope’s nature to be in control. 

What she didn’t expect was for Josie to roughly grab her jaw and force her head the other way, exposing her neck in a way that admittedly made Penelope’s breath hitch. Josie’s lips slowly trailed down the side of Penelope’s neck, tracing the strong muscle that lay underneath. Her soft breath and the tickle of her lips made Penelope squirm and bit her bottom lip, keeping herself from vocalizing what she was feeling. 

“Stubborn, aren’t we?” Josie teased. “It’s okay.” She pulled up and turned Penelope’s head around so that she could meet Penelope’s eyes. “I’ll break you.” 

There was no way to control the way her eyes widened when Josie said those words, an immediate jolt going right down to the spot where Josie’s thigh was still firmly against. 

Josie smiled. “Admit you want it,” she teased, displaying the cockiness that only Penelope knew Josie had. 

“I admit to nothing,” Penelope stubbornly retorted, straightening herself up. She wasn’t going to be broken that easily. 

Josie merely shrugged, having too much fun for Penelope to give in that easily anyway. She returned to her previous position but with little hesitation she began to roughly suck against Penelope’s neck, fully intending on leaving a few bruises behind. Was it childish to plant Penelope with hickies? Completely. Was it fun regardless? Absolutely. 

Penelope squirmed as she fought against Josie’s obvious attempt at possession and as hot as Josie’s jealousy tended to be, Penelope wasn’t going to give in just because Josie knew how much she loved her possessiveness. 

To stop Penelope’s squirming, Josie pressed her knee roughly against Penelope’s centre, causing Penelope to gasp as the friction went right up her body. “Don’t make me make this harder on you,” Josie warned, facing Penelope again. Penelope felt like she was being chastised in the admittedly hottest way. 

“Good girl.” Josie gave Penelope a quick peck on her lips.

Penelope scowled in return. “This means nothing.” Josie moved her knee again, causing the same reaction from before. Penelope recovered more quickly this time and she glared at Josie. “That’s not going to work forever.”

Josie shrugged. “I know. That’s why you got us so many fun things to use to make it worse. Unfortunately for you, I know the exact way to build it up so you can never build a tolerance to it.” 

Penelope screwed herself over by enjoying torturing Josie too much. _Fuck_.

“The student learns from the master,” Josie repeated. 

This was _not_ the lesson Penelope intended on teaching Josie. Not at all. 

Josie returned to Penelope’s neck, taking all the time she wanted. By the time she even touched Penelope down there, she expected her to be soaking and Josie would hit every other point a hundred times if need be to make Penelope give in. Or if she didn’t give in, at least she would suffer.

When Josie was satisfied and Penelope’s neck was pulsing from the abuse it had taken, she allowed herself to move lower. Now every time Penelope moved her neck, she would feel it the same way her centre was trapped with her leg. Penelope was going to feel her everywhere and she would enjoy it even if she was too stubborn to admit it.

Josie took a second to stare at Penelope, enjoying the sight of her fairly helpless beneath her. Penelope’s cheeks were almost red and that defiant look on her face only edged Josie further. She didn’t know that she could have so much fun doing this to Penelope. The fact that Penelope trusted her just made this way better. 

Being an oh-so considerate girlfriend, Josie made sure the shirt Penelope was wearing wasn’t one she was particularly fond of before roughly ripping it open. Penelope’s eyes widened and she bit her bottom lip. Not only was she now more exposed, but she also couldn’t do a thing to cover up. She was also far too aware of how wet she was. So was Josie.

There was no denying it; she was incredibly turned on. 

After taking a few seconds to enjoy the view, Josie crashed her lips back onto Penelope’s. Penelope gasped into the kiss when she felt Josie eagerly palm and squeeze her breasts. She could feel the way Josie’s thumb rubbed against the fabric, knowing exactly where her nipples were. The fact that they were hardened made the garment less relevant. Josie moaned into the kiss, causing Penelope to react in kind by deepening it. Her need to please Josie was such a natural reaction that she didn’t have time to even consider pretending that it didn’t affect her. 

When Josie pulled away, she had a cocky smirk on her face. She had Penelope just where she wanted. Penelope didn’t even resist as Josie unsnapped her bra and tossed it aside. Contrary to Penelope’s beliefs, this was too easy. 

Josie sat up and teasingly pulled off her shirt, giving Penelope a perfect view of her taut abs. Her own bra came off not soon after. “Maybe if you ask nicely, I’ll let you touch,” she offered, a brow raised to see if that would get Penelope to break. It wasn’t, because she was simply met with silence. Penelope forced herself to look away. Luckily, her stubbornness was endearing to Josie. “Suit yourself.” 

Since Penelope had no interest in looking, Josie went back to appreciating her breasts, taking each nipple into her mouth one at a time for a few moments. Penelope jolted every time Josie gave her a particularly rough flick of her tongue. When her teeth grazed them, Penelope almost felt an inkling of fear rising in her. Somehow, it only served to turn her on even more. Unable to resist, she looked down at Josie as she enjoyed herself, barely biting back a moan as Josie’s eyes met her own, her tongue swirling in perfect view. Josie knew how much Penelope loved watching her and this was absolute torture. 

Because no sane person would wear pants in bed, Josie didn’t have any to pull off of Penelope. Instead, her hand traveled downwards to play with the fabric of her panties. Her finger slid over the fabric, her entrance blocked by the flimsy material. She leaned up again so that she was next to Penelope’s ear. “Do you want me to fuck you?” she almost lightheartedly asked. 

“Fuck, Josie…” Contrary to Josie’s act, Penelope knew all too well that she was not at all innocent.

“You just have to beg.” Josie shrugged, almost as if it were a casual suggestion.

Unfortunately for Josie, she had now made it too fun to resist so while Penelope desperately did feel the need to be fucked silly, she didn’t want to give in yet. She wanted to see what else her girlfriend had in mind (though she was quite certain she wouldn’t last much longer). 

“Still no, huh?” Josie pouted, slightly disappointed because she was also more than ready to fuck her girlfriend and watch her squirm. Still, that just meant that she had to try harder. Josie always liked a challenge. She moved downwards towards Penelope’s stomach, pressing gentle kisses as she did. At least, that’s how it started. Whenever she felt Penelope’s stomach muscles twitch, she stopped and began sucking on the skin over top, leaving more dark marks in her path. At least Penelope wouldn’t have to spend time covering these ones up? 

The agonizingly slow pace that Josie was moving at was a stark contrast to their usual hurried fits of passion. Penelope’s core was throbbing but she was almost just as content watching Josie as she appreciated her body--perhaps too content for Josie’s plan to succeed. Josie’s actions were loving, despite the roughness, and Penelope’s love for Josie was so overwhelming that sometimes Penelope couldn’t even feel the throbbing need over how full her heart felt. 

Penelope desperately wished she could kiss Josie. So desperate that she would let herself slip up, just this once. “Jojo?”

Josie looked up, her brow raised. “Hmm?”

“Please kiss me?”

Josie’s confusion quickly morphed into a bright smile. “Of course.” She met Penelope’s lips and they happily kissed. Penelope leaned into it, wanting Josie to feel what she was currently feeling. The absolute trust she had for her was rare and the love? Well, that had been nonexistent before Josie crashed into her life; rather, before _Penelope_ crashed into _Josie’s_ life.

The kiss ended too soon and Penelope actually pouted when Josie pulled away. Josie narrowed her eyes and poked Penelope’s pout. “Stop distracting me,” Josie whined, ready to break from her game and feel Penelope’s appreciation in the more pleasurable way. This was supposed to be hot and rough. Penelope was turning her into mush (though admittedly it wasn’t a hard feat to accomplish). 

“It’s working isn’t it?” Penelope’s cockiness made a surprise appearance and despite the soft moment they had just had, Josie’s annoyance was now triggered.

“Jerk.”

“You love me.”

Josie rolled her eyes. “I do.” That couldn’t be denied and no game would ever cause her to do so. “But now I’m not going to be as gentle. You need to be punished.” _Not as gentle?_ Penelope was under the impression that this was already Josie being rough.

When Josie got off the bed and began to rummage through their drawer, Penelope knew that she was going to be in for a long night. Penelope sighed and laid back, unable to do anything. Her wrists were beginning to get sore but it was only because she had been struggling. This momentary break gave her the chance to wiggle a little and get herself more comfortable. 

When Josie returned from the bathroom with a vibrator in hand, Penelope bit her bottom lip. Josie didn’t struggle at all to rip Penelope’s panties off--they were already ruined so it wasn’t a loss. Penelope gasped when she felt the cool silicone hit her clit. Without warning, Josie turned it on. The vibrations immediately got to Penelope and she moaned. “Fuck, Josie!” 

Her entire body tensed. Between Josie’s teasing and the strong vibrations, Penelope could feel herself quickly hitting her climax. However, Josie was just as familiar with Penelope’s body as Penelope was with her’s so the moment Josie sensed Penelope’s orgasm, she tore the vibrator away, leaving Penelope gasping for breath and her clit throbbing. Penelope barely had a second to catch her breath before Josie repeated the action, invoking the same reaction as before. 

“Beg, Penelope,” Josie ordered. “If you want to come, beg.” Josie had her brow raised, wondering if it was possible for Penelope to continue to maintain her pride when she was _so_ close. Just to add to the pressure, Josie’s thumb went to Penelope’s clit, rubbing slowly. 

It made it impossible for Penelope to think so all she could do was obey. “Please, Josie,” she moaned, arching into her girlfriend’s touch.

“Please what?” Josie’s pace on Penelope’s clit quickened, but not enough for Penelope to get away without answering. 

“Please, let me,” Penelope moaned when Josie pressed especially hard, “let me come!” 

“Good girl,” Josie grinned and did as Penelope asked, increasing her pace and letting Penelope enjoy the pleasure flowing through her body until it pushed her into her climax. Penelope’s orgasm hit her hard and left her entire body tingling. It took her many breaths to recover and open her eyes but when she did, she was faced with a confident-looking Josie, utterly amused and enjoying the view of Penelope completely undone beneath her. 

Now Penelope knew how Josie felt whenever she said she wanted to wipe the cocky smirk off her face.

Josie slid her finger through Penelope’s folds, gathering some of the wetness that had accumulated. “You’ve made such a mess, Penelope,” Josie teased. She presented her glistening fingers to Penelope, showing her just how wet she was (as if Penelope couldn’t already feel it). Josie took her fingers into her own mouth, slowly sucking the juices right off of them. “Mmm, I love how you taste.” 

Penelope’s eyes couldn’t leave Josie’s mouth, watching the way she licked her fingers until Josie moved it out of sight by pressing their lips together. Her tongue didn’t hesitate to meet Penelope’s and she could taste herself through the kiss. Josie moaned against her lips, causing Penelope to whimper. Yes, she whimpered. Josie was being too hot right now and it was making Penelope weak. 

Distracted by the kiss, Penelope didn’t even notice Josie’s hand move until she felt the sharp pressure from Josie inserting her fingers into her. Penelope moaned into the kiss as Josie began to thrust her fingers in and out of her girlfriend. The movement was slick and easy from how wet Penelope was and that made it just perfect for what Josie had in store. 

Josie curled her fingers inside Penelope while rubbing her clit, letting her come again rather peacefully. Penelope will appreciate the reprieve soon. Josie continued to kiss her and Penelope happily moaned into her mouth many times over. 

After a freebie, Josie peeled herself away from the bed once again. She quickly kicked off her shorts and panties, leaving her completely naked. Penelope watched as Josie once again rummaged through the drawer. She had quite a nice view of everything she wasn’t allowed to touch and Penelope licked her lips just thinking about how the moment Josie freed her, Penelope would pay her back ten-fold. 

Josie bounded into the bathroom and didn’t reappear until she was ready. She leaned against the door frame and struck a dramatic pose for Penelope. She stood there in all her tall and naked glory except for the straps that were now around her waist. Of course, Penelope couldn’t help but laugh at her cute girlfriend. “Looks like someone’s rather hard,” Penelope teased.

“It’s what you do to me,” Josie responded, giving Penelope a nonchalant shrug. Josie broke out into a grin and returned onto the bed, placing herself between Penelope’s legs once again. “Seeing as this is all your fault, it’s your responsibility to fix it.” 

Penelope raised her brow. “I can’t do much considering…” Penelope rattled the cuffs, proving her point.

“Don’t worry. You like this… is more than enough.” She leaned forward and nibbled Penelope’s ear. “All I needed was to make sure you can’t stop me.” Josie’s hot breath and her dangerous words caused Penelope to shiver. If Penelope wasn’t already wet enough, she definitely would be now. 

Penelope tensed in anticipation as she felt the tip of the dildo run through her folds. It was teasing and Penelope couldn’t resist the way she spread her legs further to accommodate Josie. “Looks like someone wants it.” Of course, Josie wouldn’t miss it and had to point it out. “What a dirty slut.”

Penelope’s eyes widened. It wasn’t the first time the word came from Josie’s mouth but it was usually uttered with acceptance when Penelope was dominating her. But as an insult? _Fuck_. Josie was officially going to be the only person allowed to call her that.

Josie didn’t wait for Penelope to respond before thrusting the tip into Penelope, causing her entire body to tense. She waited and moved slowly as Penelope adjusted to the girth before venturing deeper. It was a slow and patient process, with Penelope nodding her okay every so often. Even base deep, Josie continued to move gently until Penelope began moving along with her pace, a silent confirmation that Penelope was ready to go. 

Josie gradually increased her pace. Every thrust was accompanied by a moan from Penelope. There was no space between thrusts for Penelope to talk, her body instinctively reacting to Josie’s actions. There was no room for pride when all she wanted was to feel Josie deeper and harder. When Josie’s thumb pressed against her clit and joined Josie’s thrusts, Penelope was gone. 

Orgasm after orgasm rushed through her, Josie never giving her a chance to recover before working her up again and triggering another. “Fuck!” Penelope’s moans increased and became louder as Josie continued, almost reaching a scream. It was impossible to keep count and Josie watched as her girlfriend trembled beneath her. 

Penelope’s only mercy came when Josie got tired and she breathlessly pulled out. Both their faces were red and their bodies covered in sweat. Josie peeled off the strap-on before reaching over and grabbing the keys to unlock Penelope’s wrists. They were bright red from the strain and as Penelope withdrew them, Josie caught them just so she could place gentle kisses against the raw skin. 

Penelope got up and threw off her shirt before falling back into bed. Her heart was still racing and her mind clouded from the near sex-coma that Josie had given her. Josie propped herself up with her arm and gently traced over the marks that she had left on Penelope’s stomach. “Are you okay?” she asked, making sure Penelope enjoyed it.

“More than okay.” Penelope was breathless and exhausted but she had just enough energy to roll over so that she could face Josie. “I love you.” There were no truer words that could be said. Penelope loved Josie with all her heart and she couldn’t see it ever being any other way. They were meant for each other, despite the world placing so many obstacles in their way. 

“I love you too.”

There was a comfortable moment of silence that drifted between them as they stared into each other’s eyes. Life would never be perfect but this was absolutely enough.

“I hope you don’t think that’s it for tonight,” Josie suddenly stated.

Penelope raised her brow. “I’m a vengeful person, Jojo. Now’s your chance to back out.” When Penelope was met only by silence and a playful twinkle in Josie’s eyes, she smirked. “You asked for it.” Penelope rolled over so that she could climb on top of Josie, her girlfriend giggling beneath her. Neither of them could stop smiling and they were both confident that they weren’t going to get any sleep tonight. The love between them was overwhelming and determined to express itself. 

They no longer had a reason to smoother its flames.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had written this chapter months ago when rolly told me she had never read a fic where Josie topped that she found convincing. Clearly, I took that as a challenge and presented this to her on her birthday.
> 
> No birthday sex could be given but birthday smut is almost as good, right?
> 
> This fic idea came from a burst of crack between rolly and I, but it somehow worked out. Thank you so much for joining us on this journey and for all the support! 
> 
> I'll see you all soon :)


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